The Sniper in the Student
by Anteater
Summary: AU. My take on what if Booth and Brennan met previously, in this case, college. B&B fluff. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this one came completely out of the blue after watching the 100th episode. I couldn't get out of my head how easy Booth and Brennan's interactions were when they first met and how Brennan already inspired Booth to be a better man and that inspired this story. It is totally and completely AU. I should be able to update this once a week and am still actively working on "Trying to Fight an Invisible, Invading Enemy." Just needed something a little less emotional to write about as well. Enjoy and let me know if I should continue. Please review!

Chapter 1

August 1996

The alarm sounded and he sat up with a start. Most people hated their alarm clocks; hated the shrill sound it made as it woke them from their rest and made them leave the warmth of their bed and their pleasant dreamlands. But recently, Booth's alarm clock was his best friend. The 24 year old had seen and done more in his young life than he should have had to and those memories that he could consciously repress during the day came forth to haunt him at night. His alarm clock was the only thing that kept him from slipping into his past, whether it was his father's house or the middle of the Iraqi desert, was the only thing that was looking out for him when the memories threatened to engulf him. And for that, he always felt a kind of affection for his alarm clock that he hadn't felt for anyone or anything since he had been discharged from Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

And it was a present that he was excited about for the first time in a long time. Today was his first day of real college, paid for courtesy of Uncle Sam. During his time in the Army, he was able to complete most of his general education courses through mailing in his material and taking some classes on base when he was home but this was his first day of going to college classes with other college students. Even though he wasn't quite sure of what he was getting himself into, Pops had always emphasized to him the importance of getting his education and he never wanted to let him down. So, when he was given an honorable discharge, he enrolled at Penn State as a Crime, Law, and Justice major, thinking maybe he could use his sharp shooting ability for good. At least he had taken enough classes to go right into his upper division coursework and skip all the classes with the freshmen, taking classes with people closer to his own age.

Booth sat up and put his feet on the cool floor, wincing as the ache returned. He had rehabbed at Walter Reed for 8 months after his 9-week captivity had messed up his feet so bad that he had to re-learn how to walk. And even though that was not his only injury, it was the one that had, obviously, taken the longest to heal properly and was still causing him issues today. He looked down at his feet to the healed surgical scars where the doctors had to reset the bones in his feet by hand and reached for a pair of brightly colored socks. One of the physical therapists at Walter Reed had given him a couple of pairs of the obnoxious looking socks for two reasons; one, it hide the scars on his feet, and two, it kept them warm so the achiness he felt when it was cold would be kept at bay.

After putting his socks on, he stood up and walked toward the small kitchen in his studio apartment. It was really small, only about 440 sq ft, but was big enough to contain the kitchen, small table, closet, TV, bathroom and couch he was currently sleeping on. He really didn't need that much more space. Wolfing down a bowl of Cornflakes, he realized how good it felt to be able to put on civilian clothes and ran out of the door. He wasn't exactly sure where his first class of the day was and he really didn't want to make a bad impression. Grabbing his desert camouflage backpack that he still had from his days in the Army, he quickly threw in a notebook and some pens; ready to see what this new chapter of his life was going to bring him.

********

She was bored. Completely and totally bored. Sitting in this conference room was the last thing she wanted to be doing but acknowledged that it was a necessary part of the exchange program she was on.

Temperance Brennan was starting her third year of an anthropology major with a concentration in human biology at Northwestern University in Chicago. At 19 years old, she was already proving herself to be one of the best and brightest emerging in the field. During the spring semester of her second year, her research coordinator, Dr. Michael Stires, asked if she would like to be part of a team that went to investigate some old human remains that had been found in Bald Eagle State Park in Centre County, Pennsylvania that would take the summer and the fall semester. Unable to resist the possibility of fieldwork and having no summer plans to begin with, she readily agree and now found herself sitting where she was today; in a conference room at Penn State University, who had graciously donated lab space to the visiting troupe of scientists.

And even though the lecture that she was forced to go to was interesting, her mind couldn't help but wander to the skeleton she had spent all summer recovering. She liked to imagine what kind of life he had lived, if he had any family, and what it was like living in this area of the country so many years ago. Not only that, but conference rooms always made her feel uncomfortable. They were the place where she had to sit in the Social Services building while they tried to find her a new family and since then, she had always associated them with her failure to fit into a traditional family unit.

"Tempe?" she heard Dr. Stires call to her. Realizing she must have been daydreaming, she quickly sat up in her chair and gathered her notes in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Stires, what were you saying?"

He gave her an indulgent smile that kind of creeped her out before saying, "I was just asking if you had anything to add to Dr. Woerpel's analysis of the third skeleton we found at the site."

"No, I do not," she said, wanting to end this meeting as soon as possible so she could get back to her work.

"Okay, then, let's move onto Dr. Weiss's analysis of the soil around the dig site," Dr. Stires continued. Tempe had to keep from groaning out loud at this, just wanting, again, to get back to the lab.

Just when Dr. Weiss was about to start, the door flew open and a young man walked in. His symmetrical features and the ratio of his shoulder width to hip width instantly took Tempe. It didn't help that those features came with short dark brown hair, soulful brown eyes, and a muscular, approximately 188 cm body. By his backpack and the class schedule in his hand, Tempe guessed that he was a student here but knew he was in the wrong place because this was a closed seminar.

Apparently, Dr. Stires was thinking the same thing. "Can I help you?" he asked and Tempe could hear the disapproval in his voice. It wasn't a tone he had ever used with her but she had heard him use it on other students before.

The man didn't look fazed. "I'm looking for CRIM 407 but I'm guessing that this isn't it."

Dr. Eads, an anthropology professor from Penn State, spoke up. "Son, that is going to be in Oswald Tower on the first floor. Do you know where that is?"

At the lost look on the man's face, Tempe assumed that he did not. She knew where Oswald Tower was though; it was the building across from where the lab was. Seeing an opportunity to get out of the meeting, she spoke quickly.

"Dr. Stires, I could show him where it is," she volunteered, hoping that he would come to the conclusion that it was better that she just go to the lab afterward. If not though, she was prepared to lead him in that direction.

He visibly sighed. "Okay, Tempe, you can lead our young friend here to his class. Afterward, head back to the lab. This meeting is almost over anyway."

Trying not to look too eager, Tempe gather her notes and nodded to the man to follow her out the door and down the hallway, which she noticed he did.

"Thank you so much," she told him once they were in the stairwell and out of earshot of the meeting.

He looked confused for a moment before asking, "Thanks for what?"

"I really didn't want to be in that meeting anymore and you were the perfect excuse to leave," she told him matter of factly as they exited the building and began to walk across campus. "We had better walk quickly to get you to your class; it is about a fifteen minute walk2 from here." He easily matched her quick pace even though Tempe noticed that he was limping slightly.

"So what's your name?" he asked her after a brief silence.

She looked at him for a moment and when their eyes connected, she got lost in them. She felt her stomach begin to churn slightly and needed to remember to breath. She had never seen anyone quite like him and the way he made her feel startled her slightly. She wondered if he felt the same way.

"Temperance Brennan. But everyone calls me Tempe," she finally said, sticking her hand out in the customary way of introducing oneself, even though she had studied multiple other cultures where this would have been an obscured and even obscene gesture.

"Seeley Booth. But everyone calls me Booth," he reciprocated, clasping her hand with his own to shake it. She felt a jolt of electricity pass through their hands that she knew had nothing to do with physics and this time, she knew he felt it too as he dropped her hand like he had been burned. She would have been hurt by this normally, thinking that someone else thought she was a freak like all the kids in high school and college did, but she noticed that he started walking a little closer to her, his bicep occasionally brushing up against her shoulder.

An awkward silence descended upon them before Booth finally broke it. "So, Tempe, are you a student here?"

"No, I'm a third year student at Northwestern University in Chicago," she answered. Seeing the look of confusion on his face, she continued. "I was here for the summer uncovering and identifying ancient human remains found in Bald Eagle State Park and am here for the fall semester as well for the project. I am an anthropology major with a concentration in human biology." She paused for a moment before asking, "What year are you?"

"Well, I guess I'm a third year student too but this is my first day of class here," he told her. He must have seen her matching look of confusion because he elaborated as well. "I just out of the Army a couple of months ago and figured I would go to school. I'm majoring in Crime, Law, and Justice. I just really wanna help people, you know?"

She noticed the conviction in his statement and automatically thought he would be good at that. She only wished that someone like him could have been there for her when she needed to rely upon the justice system.

"So you want to be a cop?" she asked.

He chuckled under his breath before replying, "No, I'm more interested in the FBI or the CIA. So you study bones, huh?"

She nodded enthusiastically, feeling her passion for the subject rise within her. "Yes, mostly ancient remains. I try to figure out what kind of life they lived and when they lived it. I try to coax the person's biography out of their bones and try to combine it with others in that similar time and place to construct what their society looked like; what their social mores were, what kind of government they lived in, things like that."

She was almost saddened when they finally reached his class, thinking this was the first time in a long time she had talked to someone casually and she found that she really enjoyed it. She noticed he slowed down when the building name was visible and liked to think it was because he wanted to spend more time with her as well. She couldn't be sure though; she was much better at reading bones than she was at reading people.

They stopped in front of the building and both of them stalled for a moment before Booth asked her a question. "So do you like pizza?"

She scrunched her face up slightly at his question, confused about it's relevance. "Yes. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go grab a slice? You know, with me," he clarified, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans and looking slightly uncomfortable. Tempe's mind automatically raced with the possibilities of that statement and decided to clarify under what social context she should place his request.

Never one to mince her words, she asked, "Like a date?"

She automatically knew she said the right thing when an easy smile graced his rugged good looks and he cocked his head to the side slightly as if studying her. "Yeah, Bones. Like a date," he answered.

She considered this for a moment, confused as to why this very attractive man would be asking her out and why he called her 'Bones'. But finding that she wanted more of his company, she agreed. "That would be acceptable," she said, bouncing on her feet slightly and smiling at him.

His grin increased at her statement. "Okay, well does Thursday at 7 work for you? We could walk to the pizza place down the street," he suggested.

She quickly thought about her schedule for the week. "That should work fine," she answered, not knowing what else to say. She had never dated very much before; being the foster kid that was constantly changing schools did not do very much for her social life. But even though she was nervous about this situation, she found that his presence put her at ease and she was actually looking forward to the date.

"Okay, then," he nodded, still smiling. "Do you live around here? I'll come get you."

She nodded. "I'm staying in Eastview Terrace for the semester. I'll meet you outside at 7 pm."

"I'll see you then, Bones," he said as he turned to go into the building.

"Wait!" she called out, seeing him turn around. "Why do you keep calling me 'Bones'?"

He gave her that very charming smile again. "It's my nickname for you. You know, because you work with bones." Not giving her time to respond, he opened the door and walked into the building.

She smiled and walked toward her lab, irrationally pleased that he had a special name for her.

********

Academically, his first day of class did not go very well. He was fifteen minutes late to his first class and after meeting Bones; he found his focus was definitely not on his classes. He was immediately drawn to her beauty when he first saw her in that conference room, her striking blue eyes and curvy yet slim figure immediately attracted him to her. But then after speaking with her, he found his attraction deepened, and he almost couldn't contain his joy after she agreed to go out with him.

Pops had always told him when he met the one, he would know. He would know that was the person he was going to love 30 or 40 or 50 years down the line. Booth was finally that guy. He knew.

And as he got back to his place after class that night, he actually felt at peace for the first time in a long time, thoughts of beatings at home and killing people from 250 yards away far from his mind as he sat down to try and get some homework done.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow! Thanks for the feedback. You guy are awesome and inspired me to write this chapter as fast as I could. Keep them coming and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

For the last four days, Tempe had buried herself in her lab, trying to focus on anything but the date that she had this evening. Her excitement had built so much over the last several days that even the skeleton she had been working on all summer couldn't hold her attention. So here she stood, at her lab table, her summer's work laid out on the table before her, and her attention was completely focused on what she should wear tonight. She couldn't help thinking that she wished her mom was around so she could talk to her about this situation but quickly diverted herself from going down that road. She was so distracted with thoughts of Seeley Booth that she didn't hear someone walking up behind her. Consequently, she jumped when she felt him put a hand on her shoulder.

"Tempe? Are you okay? You seemed zoned out of a moment," Dr. Stires asked her.

Tempe looked at her professor, giving herself a moment to get her breathing under control. She wasn't sure, but she thought that he had come onto to her in the past, something she was not remotely interested in. She knew to be taken seriously in the small field of forensic anthropology, her academic integrity had to be beyond reproach. Sleeping with her faculty mentor and research coordinator was not the way she wanted to start off her career.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Stires, I didn't hear you. I agree that I am not as focused on my academic pursuits as I normally am today. I apologize and will endeavor to correct this for the rest of the work day," she told him, turning back around to the bones and picking up a femur.

"It's okay, Tempe. We are all entitled to have an off day now and then. And with the quality of work you have produced all summer, I would say that you are more than entitled," he told her. Tempe did not acknowledge him, hoping he would get the hint and leave her alone. Unfortunately, he did not.

"Tempe, there are a bunch of us going out tonight to celebrate the end of a whole summer of good work. Would you like to join us?" he asked her, closer to her than she would have liked. She smiled as she thought of her plans tonight and again, never one to mince her words, told him exactly what her plans were this evening.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Stires but I have a date tonight with the student I walked to class on Monday."

Even she could read the surprise on his face at her statement. She almost smirked at his surprise; she knew she wasn't the most popular person in the lab but ever since Booth had asked her out, she could care less. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't care about anyone else's opinion but his and this realization both scared and excited her. She was just glad that there was someone out there right now that was glad that she was alive and was looking forward to seeing her. It had been a while since she had that feeling.

"Um, well, okay then, Tempe. Have fun tonight," he said, walking away from the platform. "But remember, we have a staff meeting tomorrow morning at 9 am and I expect you to be there on time."

Tempe turned to face him, the femur still in her hand. "I have never been late to a meeting before Dr. Stires and I do not anticipate that tomorrow will be any different." She indulged in a small smile as she heard him leave the lab. She glanced at the clock and decided that for once, she was going to leave a little early.

As she walked outside and toward her room, the temperature was beginning to drop as the sun began its descent to the horizon. The coolness was a relief to the heat and humidity that occupied the days for the last couple of months. But even the heat couldn't bother her today. During the short walk to her residence, she went over the choices for her outfit in her head, something she had never remembered doing before. She decided that this was a socially acceptable thing for a female of her age and status so she dismissed any thoughts that this was an irrational thing to do.

Her mind kept going back to the conversation she had with him on Monday. Now that she thought about it, she was surprised how easy it was to talk to him. Normally when she tried to talk to people, she always managed to say the wrong thing and put people off in such a way that second conversations were rare. But with Booth, she had talked, and if she was objectively analyzing her conversation, she would even say flirted with him. And if she was correct, he had flirted back. She felt a blush come to her cheeks that had nothing to do with the heat and picked up her pace a little, anxious to get back to her room and get ready for her evening.

********

Booth walked up entrance of Eastview Terrace, five minutes early for their date. To keep from nervously pacing in front of the door, he went and sat down on a bench that was about ten feet away from the door.

After getting home from the gym today, he showered, put some gel in his hair that he had let go out since he got out of the Army, and decided on a blue button up, collared shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Truth be told, he was nervous. Not only had it been awhile since he had been on a date, but he really, really felt like this girl was special, that she was the one. He knew he had never felt this way about anyone before and he only talked to her for fifteen minutes. Remembering the last couple of days, he was almost glad that he didn't have her phone number because the temptation to call her just to hear her voice again would have been too great and while he knew she was the one, he did not want to freak her out or rush her in anyway. And even though it was going to be hard for him to hold back, he knew that this was forever and that it was more important that she was comfortable at every step of the way.

He heard the door open, but a couple of guys came out with a basketball, talking about the football game this weekend. Booth frowned slightly as he checked his watch, realizing that he still had two minutes until 7 pm. He sat back and let out a breath, using techniques he learned as a Ranger to calm his nerves.

"Booth?" he heard. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see her standing over next at the edge of the bench that he was sitting on. His breath caught in his throat for a moment as he looked at her, knowing he was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. She was wearing a yellow sundress, sandals, and had her hair down and had a wavy quality to it. He looked down to notice that she was carrying a purse and a white jacket in her hand. Looking back up to her face again, he saw she had a questioning look on her face and he quickly told himself to get a grip. He stood up and took a step toward her, her proximity bringing back all the nerves he had just spend the last couple of minutes getting rid of.

"Hey, Bones," he said, smiling at her. His smile widened when he saw her smile back. "You look beautiful," he told her watching a blush rise on her face. It seemed like nobody had told her that before by the way she responded to the remark, which he couldn't believe. She was breath taking.

"Thanks, Booth. You look pretty great too," she responded and he watched as her eyes left his own and roamed over his body. He felt a rush of excitement course through his body and hoped that she wasn't just trying to name all the bones of his body when she looked at him.

"Are you ready?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets to keep himself from touching her. She nodded slightly and they began to walk toward their dinner destination.

An awkward silence descended upon them, neither knowing how to break the tension that was flowing between them. Booth walked as close as he could to her without actually touching her, afraid that if he started, he wouldn't want to stop touching her.

"How was your day?" he started, figuring that was an easy topic to begin with.

"It was okay," she said as she shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't get any work done and I blame you for that."

"Me?" he said, wondering why it was his fault. "I didn't even see you today!"

"And that is precisely why it is your fault. If you would have given me your phone number, then I could have called you to talk to you, thus getting rid of the question I have been pondering for the last several unproductive work days."

Trying to follow her logic but becoming slightly dizzy doing so, he decided to ask what she meant.

"Well, I kept wondering if it would be as easy to talk to you when we had the opportunity again and I kept replaying our conversation in my mind looking for any data that would suggest whether or not it would be. If I had your phone number, I could have talked to you whenever I pleased and therefore, removing the question from my mind so I could focus on my work."

The smile returned to his face at her answer. She was definitely unlike any other girl he had ever dated and he had a feeling that she would be keeping him on his toes. He reached into his pocket to retrieve a receipt to some groceries he had purchased earlier. "Do you have a pen?" he asked her.

She went into her purse and pulled out a black pen. He took it from her and scribbled down his phone number, handing her the paper and the pen when he was done.

"There," he said. "Next time your big brain is telling you to call me, you now have my phone number to do so."

She smiled at him, a full smile that lit up her eyes. "Thanks," she told him quietly as she put both of the items in her purse. Looking up, Booth realized they were at the pizza shop.

"Here we are," he said as he out his hand on the small of her back to guide her to the front door. He felt her tense slightly at his contact before relaxing and leaning back into his touch. She pulled open the door without letting him open it for her but he just let her have her way, already sensing that this was the wise thing to do. He was just happy to finally touch her.

*******

After they sat down at a table they picked out themselves in the small but crowded pizzeria, she found that she was enjoying herself immensely. She also found an irrational pleasure when she felt his hand touch he back, like it was meant to be there, like the phalanges of his hand had been designed to fit in that very spot on her body. Although she knew it is irrational and scientifically improbable (she didn't like to say anything was 'impossible' because that was statistically unlikely), she wanted to believe that it was true.

Booth returned from placing their order and brought her the coke she requested, sitting down in the chair across the table from her. She was happy to find that she was correct in her assessment that they would have an easy time talking to each other as they started up an easy conversation when he got back, only interrupted by the arriving of the pizza. And although the noise of the pizzeria made it difficult to hear each other, Tempe found that she had no problems reading him like she had with other people. She laughed at his expression when he found out that she was only 19 years old and a third year, got excited when they found out that they both enjoyed old movies, and she thought it was interesting that they both were fascinated by history.

She could tell when his eyes lit up with humor, when they questioned her statement, and when became flooded with something else, something she thought she knew but was scared to identify for what it meant. He got an intense look in his eyes when he looked at her that Tempe thought was filled with passion and longing but thought that couldn't possibly be it.

Finishing their pizza, they got up and Booth suggested a walk around the area. Tempe readily agreed, not willing to part from his company just yet. During dinner, they spoke about easy topics, how classes were going, if they had any plans for the weekend, but she wanted to get to know him better. She knew how to get someone's life story out of their bones but this was a completely new territory for her. Deciding to just go for it, she asked the first question.

"So where are you from originally?" she asked as they walked out of the pizzeria, putting her jacket on as the warm summer day had turned into a cool evening. She smiled as his hand returned to the position on the small of her back, seemingly by a magnetic force.

"I grew up in Philadelphia. I haven't been back since I joined up though," he told her as they continued their walk through the university. "How about you?"

"Mostly in Ohio," she said. "But I moved around a lot when I was in the foster system." She froze the instant she said that. She had never told anyone that before and had no idea why it came out now. Not even Dr. Stires knew of her history before college. She felt his hand tense against her back and fall away and knew it was over; she had just ruined the most important thing in her life sine her parents left in one sentence. Starting to go over excuses to leave, she didn't realize that he was standing right in front of her.

When she looked up at him, expecting to see disgust and pity written plainly in his face, she instead only found acceptance and sympathy. Involuntarily, tears sprang up and her clear blue eyes were dulled by the sheen of tears. Slowly, he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, her face finding a perfect spot in between his neck and shoulder. One of his arms was slung across her shoulder so his hand rested on her opposite shoulder blade while his other arm wound around her waist to rest against her lower back. She wrapped her own arms around his waist and settled in his arms, feeling more comfortable here than anywhere else in the world. He held her tenderly and she shivered as she felt him started to gently draw circles on her back. He must have thought the shiver indicated that her body temperature was dropping because he held her closer, which she didn't even think was possible.

He pulled back after what seemed like an eternity but it wasn't long enough as far as she was concerned. He didn't let go completely though but he brought one of his hands up to cradle her cheek.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," he told her softly, holding eye contact the entire time and saying just as much with his gaze as he was with his words. Tempe had never been so touched and felt so treasured since her parents left and she realized how much she missed it. This sure didn't feel like this was their first date, she realized. She had felt like she had known him forever.

"It's not okay, but I've dealt with it," she told him, trying to communicate to him that she wanted to drop the subject. He nodded and dropped his hands, turning and waiting for her to begin walking.

As they started waling again, this time in a comfortable silence, she found that she missed his touch. Deciding to be bold, she reached down and laced her fingers through his, their joined hands now swinging between them. She tensed for a minute, wondering if he would pull away before she felt his hand tighten in hers and he looked down at her to give her one of his amazing smiles. She couldn't help but smile back, the feeling of letting everyone know of their new relationship by this outward sign of affection thrilled her and made her feel like she was walking on clouds instead of the earth.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I am overwhelmed by the amount of reviews and story alerts I have gotten for this story. Thank you so much! This will be the last chapter for about a week and it is pretty short because I have a 4,000-word paper due next Monday that I haven't started yet. Opps. I wanted to get something out though and let you know that I am still actively working on this story. All the chapters are outlined, they just have to be written. But please enjoy and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Chapter 3

October 1996

He sat in the library at the computer, trying to type the paper due in his victimology class. Since he didn't have a computer in his apartment and the professor required the paper to be typed, he had spent a lot of time in the library lately. Though he enjoyed the class and the theories that the professor lectured about, he hated writing papers. He was a horrible typist; as it turns out, the Army doesn't care so much their soldier's typing skills. Looking down at his watch, he noted that he had been here for 4 hours already and he was starting to fidget. Turns out he could lay still for nearly a whole day but couldn't sit still for more than a couple of hours to work on his homework assignment and grimaced as he was suddenly swamped with memories from that time of his life. But Bones had made him a copy of her library card so he could get into a restricted part of the library that she had access to that was much more comfortable than the normal part so he considered himself lucky. Not only lucky to be in this part of the library but also lucky to have Bones in his life.

They had been dating now for about 8 weeks now and things had been going more smoothly than in any other relationship he ever had. It was like they connected on a completely different level that he didn't even know existed before. He could look at her and know exactly what he was thinking and he knew it was the exact same way with her when she looked at him. Every free moment they had, they spend it together. He even used the quiet of her lab to study while she was on the platform examining her bones. This was some of the time he enjoyed the most with her. Never had he been able just to sit with a girl, in complete silence, and feel content. He knew he was in love with her already but he couldn't tell her yet. Even though he knew that this was different, he thought that she might be holding something back from him. And since Booth hoped that this would be the last relationship he was in, he was worried that she wasn't telling him something. Again, though, being completely honest with himself, he knew there were a lot of things he wasn't telling her either. But he rationalized it by convincing himself it was for her benefit and not his.

When she blurted out to him that she had been a foster child, he comforted her and hoped she would talk about it further but she hadn't said a word since. He didn't blame her; his own childhood was nothing to write home about and certainly something that he didn't want to bring up at every opportunity.

He smiled as he felt a pair of slender arms wrap themselves around his shoulders and felt the lips of the person that the arms belonged to give him a kiss on his left temple. She must have finished at the lab for the night. Turning to look at her, he smiled at her before his lips found hers, giving her a quick kiss; nothing too obscene since this was still the library. He had kissed her nearly everyday since they had been dating (and, if he were honest, multiple time a day) and he still couldn't get over the feelings he had when they did. It still felt fresh and exciting and good: really, really good.

Pulling away from her slightly but still saying within the circle of her arms, he leaned back against his chair and put his head against her shoulder, staring at the half completed paper that was occupying the screen. His displeasure must have come across on his face because he heard her giggle softly in his ear and left one of her hands to run through his hair softly.

"Not going too well, huh?" she asked in a hushed voice, not wanting to disturb the other patrons in the library. Booth closed his eyes for a moment, reveling in her touch and how it could immediately put him at ease. Unfortunately, it was also currently distracting him from the paper that was due in the morning.

"You could say that," he groaned, knowing he still had a lot of work to do and it was already 8 pm. They were supposed to go out tonight and grab something to eat when she was done but it looked like he would still be here for a while. Already feeling desperate to see her tonight, he dug in his pocket and pulled out his keys.

"I still have some work to do here," he started. "But why don't you go back to my place and wait for me? I should only be here for another hour or so and I'll bring Thai food when I get there. Make yourself comfortable."

They had hung out at his place often since she lived in the residence halls and his furniture was more comfortable. He was pleased to see the brief look of disappointment across her face as she realized their plans would have to be delayed but she grabbed his keys and removed her arms from around his shoulders. Booth instantly missed the warmth but smiled against her lips when she leaned down to give him another kiss.

"Don't be too long," she whispered as she left the library. With a renewed energy and knowing what would be waiting for him when he got home, he renewed his attack on his part, determined to get out of here sooner as opposed to later.

Much later, he used his spare key to open the door of his apartment, putting the Thai food in the dark apartment before looking to see where his girlfriend was and hoping that she had not left. He was at the library longer than he wanted to be, leaving here at 12:15 am and grabbing the food at the 24-hour place on the way home. He spotted hereon the couch as he put his backpack on the floor by the table. She was fast asleep, sitting against the back of the couch with her neck extended over the back edge.

He smiled at her before wincing; knowing that the position she was in couldn't be comfortable. Not wanting to wake her up, he shifted her so that she was lying across the couch. As he did this, she reached her arms up in her sleep and wrapped them around his neck, making him lose his balance as he fell against her and quickly braced his weight so that he wouldn't crush her. He was half lying on the couch and she snuggled her face into his chest, her breathing evening out again as she fell into a deeper sleep. Booth sighed and decided that instead of sleeping on the hard floor, they both might as well be comfortable.

Pulling his legs up on the couch, he shift until he was lying on his back with her on her side between him and the back on the couch. Softly kissing the top of her head, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Whew, finished the paper and am back to writing what I want to! Some angst in this one but don't fret; things will be better soon. Please let me know what you think and leave a review. Thanks!

Chapter 4

Tempe woke up somewhere that was definitely not her room and was definitely too small to be her bed. And for some reason, her pillow had a heartbeat.

Startled by this revelation, she sat up and looked down, relieved at the reason why her pillow was beating. She glanced down to see her boyfriend of two months sleeping peacefully on the couch that doubled as his bed in his small apartment. He must have come in after she fell asleep. This was the first time she had ever woken up with someone and she wanted to savor the moment. And the fact that it was her first boyfriend and the first person she had loving feelings for since her family abandoned her. Smiling down at him, she softly stroked his cheek. Still sleeping, he consciously turned his head into her touch and she had to suppress the giggle that threatened to escape as his whiskers scratched her palm. Wanting badly to curl up into him and fall back asleep but knowing that she was now wide awake, she got off the couch over the back to avoid disturbing him and decided to take a closer look around his apartment.

When she got to his place last night, she was so tired that she sat on his couch and fell right asleep. Because they had been spending so much time together outside the lab, she found that she was getting behind on her work so she had been saying up late at night to write her paper of the paper the group was publishing from this project. But for the first time in her life, she didn't care that school was not her first priority. Every time she wasn't spending with him, she was thinking about him. She felt like she could talk to time about everything; after all, she had told him that she was a foster kid and instead of running like anyone else who had heard did; he embraced her and told her he was sorry. If she had been unsure about how serious this thing between this was between them then, after that incident, she was convinced that this was the real deal.

Not wanting to wake him, she climbed over the back of the couch knowing that now that she was awake, she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep no matter how much she wanted to cuddle up to him and close her eyes. She got up and walked around his apartment, checking it out in the sunlight. It was Friday and she had a lab meeting in a little bit but she couldn't help staying here as long as she could. It was like she was drawn to him, even though she knew that human beings did not produce the magnetism necessary for that to be a possibility.

As she looked around the apartment he was surprised at how functional it was. There was nothing personal bout I at all; if her boyfriend wasn't softly snoring on the couch she could have been in anyone's apartment. She was curious as to the reason why his apartment didn't have any personal effects, no pictures or momentos from his past. Even though she knew he just got out of the military, she was surprised that he didn't see any more stuff around. Besides the basic furniture, the apartment was empty. It was uncluttered but also very small. Still curious but knowing that she needed to leave soon to get her meeting, she decided to make coffee for him so it would be ready when he woke up. She knew he had class in an hour and that was when his paper was due so he should be up soon.

She had only been here a couple of times before but she still knew where mostly everything was in his kitchen. She started the coffee and went looking for the sugar, knowing that they both enjoyed a little in their drinks. After the first two drawers she opened did not produce the sugar she was seeking, she opened the third one, finding the classic junk drawer that every apartment inevitably had but this one only had a couple of items in it. She saw his dog tags glisten in the sunlight coming through the window but what she was interested in lay beneath. The picture of two young boys, arms slung around each other and fishing poles in hand, stared back at her. Upon closer examination though, she noticed that the boy with the brown hair had a cut across his lip. She frowned at this, knowing an injury like that was usually caused by a fist. Reaching down to pick up the pictures from the bottom of the drawer she found about a dozen there. Some of them were of him and the other boy, some with an older man, and two with other young men dressed in fatigues.

The coffee machine beeping it's completion startled her and she jumped slightly, dropping the pictures onto the floor. Cursing, she bent to pick them up.

"Where did you find those?" she heard Booth say, his voice rough with sleep. She looked up at him to find him standing over her, his eyes filled with hurt. Surprised at his reaction and scrambling to pick the pictures up, she tried to ignore the look he was giving her.

"I was looking for the sugar and found them in the drawer," she answered, surprised as he snatched them out of her hand and threw them back in the drawer with some force. Her heart rate picked up and she felt her stomach start to churn. Why was he acting this way?

"Booth, what's wrong?" she asked, genuinely confused. She had never seen him angry and definitely never toward her. But currently, he was displaying all the signs of anger. His jaw was clenched, his fists balled up, and he wouldn't look at her.

"Nothing," he told her shortly. "Just please don't go through my stuff again, okay?"

"Booth, what are you talking about? I was just trying to find some-"

"Just leave it alone, okay? I don't want to talk about it," he told her, pushing past her to walk toward the bathroom. She stood rooted to the floor for a moment, unsure as to what just happened. What had she uncovered? What disturbed him so much about the pictures that he suddenly turned into someone she felt like she didn't know?

Determined to find out why he was acting like such a jerk, she stomped over to the bathroom and threw open the door, looking in to see him shirtless and shaving. He turned to her before continuing to shave.

"What's going on with you this morning? Why are you acting like such a jerk?" she asked in her normal blunt manner.

"That stuff is none of your business, Bones. You have no right to rummage through my stuff like that!" he said, waving the razor around in his hand as he was gesturing to her.

Tempe stepped back like he had just hit her, which was exactly what it felt like. After she had opened up to him about her past and put her heart on the line, he was not returning the favor, was not even close. And she was hurt; more hurt than she had been in a long time.

"Booth, I wasn't going through your stuff! I was looking for sugar for the coffee and those pictures were in the drawer I opened. What's the big deal anyway?" she asked, blowing off some of her anger, asking the next part softly. "Don't you trust me?" She tried to keep the hurt out of her voice but she knew she had failed.

She saw him stop shaving for a minute and hunch over his sink. She waited while he washed the rest of the shaving cream off of face and turned back toward her, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the edge of the sink. His regret was written over his face but she needed to hear it from him; the reason why he was so angry with her.

"Look, Bones, I'm sorry I got angry with you. I didn't mean to yell at you but some things…in my past…are private, okay? I don't want to talk about them," he said, not looking at her once.

"So you don't trust me?" she whispered, backing away from him one step at a time, wanting desperately to get out of this apartment. at her retreat, he moved forward to grab her arm.

"Bones, wait-"

"No! I trusted you with my past but when yours comes up all the sudden you don't want to talk about it! How is that fair, Booth? How I can want a relationship with someone who can't even open up to me?" she told him, ripping her arm out of his hand and gathering her things as she headed toward the door.

"Bones, it's not that I don't trust you okay," he said, trying to catch up to her. "I trust you more than anyone. Nobody knows about the stuff you saw in those pictures! I just, I just can't talk about it. I need more time!"

"Well, Booth, now you're going to have plenty of time because I'm leaving," she told him with her hand on the doorknob.

"Bones-"

"No, Booth let me finish. I opened myself up to you and shared with you my painful past and you were accepting and wonderful. And now, when I want to do the exact same with you and help you, you shut me out!" she finished, trying to keep the tears from falling. "When you figure out what you want to share with me and if you even want to be in a relationship with me, then come find me. Until then, stay away from me."

And with that, she was out the door, hurrying to her meeting and away from her bewildered ex-boyfriend who was still standing in the doorway, watching her run away.

********

It had been four days since Bones stormed out of his place and he had been absolutely miserable the entire time. He couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and couldn't concentrate on anything except beating himself up over his demons coming between him and the most wonderful thing that had happened to him. And those very demons were the ones currently plaguing his dreams, the dreams that for the last several weeks had been about her.

He had called her repeatedly but she wouldn't take his calls, not that he blamed her after the way that he treated her. But she had caught him off guard when she found the only pictures that he kept of his past; the past that he was constantly trying to run away from and avoid. His childhood, his days as a Ranger; she made him forget all of that and he didn't want to burden her with the gory details of his life. No, it was safer for him and for her this way. Because if she knew about his past, he knew that she would be repulsed by him and he could not handle that kind of rejection from her; from the only person he had ever really loved. This way, maybe he could get her back.

After she ignored his latest phone call, he decided to make one last ditch attempt to contact her and went over to the lab. He had a gut feeling that she would be working there late. She told him once that the lab was the place she went when she wanted the world to make sense again. The thought made him cringe, realizing now how much she had opened up to him and how he had shut her down. It was something that he needed to make right, no matter how long it took.

So after his last class that he didn't pay attention to he headed over to the building where her lab was located, hoping that she would at least let him through the door. His heart rate sped up as he walked up the stairs to the third floor where the lab was located. Not looking where he was going, he ran right into someone as he walked out of the stairwell.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" he heard as he squatted down to help pick up the papers that the man he ran into dropped. Booth looked up to see Dr. Stires staring at him with disgust written all over his face.

"Sorry about that. Wasn't looking," Booth told him, just wanting to get out of here and talk to Bones.

"Hey, you're that young man that Tempe is dating, right?" Dr. Stires asked him. Booth frowned at him, wondering when teachers became so interested in their students social lives.

"Yeah, that's me," Booth told him guardedly.

Dr. Stires stared him down for a minute, as if to size him up. Booth stood straighter and put his hands in his pockets to keep himself from crossing them over his chest. After a long moment, Stires just nodded at him and walked through the door to the stairwell. Booth decided not to reflect on the awkwardness of that moment and continued into the lab.

He saw her standing on the platform in a gray lab coat, bent over her skeleton that was laid out on the lab table. He paused for a few moments to simply watch her just in case this was the last time he got to see her. Her movements around the bones were fluid and precise, like she had been doing this forever. Booth knew this was what she was meant to do with her life and he only hoped that she would let him stick around to share that with her. He loved seeing her when she was so focused; it was like he could see into her soul and watch what she was truly passionate about.

Apparently though he wasn't being as silent as he would have liked.

"Booth, what are you doing here? I told you I would call you when I was ready," she said, not turning from the lab table.

Booth was startled out of his silence and jerked forward at her opening. "Bones, I said I was sorry. I've tried calling but you wouldn't answer my calls and I just wanted to come here and apologize to you in person."

He walked forward slightly, not coming close to the table but fully entering the lab, leaving his perch in the doorway. His hands were still in his pockets and he just waited, not saying anything until she spoke first. He didn't care how long it took.

And it took awhile, half an hour by his watch. But he didn't move, determined to stick it out until she deemed him worthy of an answer. After all, he knew he deserved it.

She finally turned to him. "Look, Booth, I have a lot of work to so if there isn't anything else…" she gestured with a gloved hand.

He raised his hands in the classic surrender position. "I know you are mad at me Bones, but I am really sorry. I know I screwed up really, really badly but I'm miserable without you. I just wanted you to know," he finished, adjusting the straps of his backpack and nervously shuffling his feet.

She stared at him for a moment and Booth tried to tell her with his eyes the sorrow that he felt but was screwing up expressing in words.

"Well, thanks for stopping by," she told him, turning back to her work, clearly dismissing him. He closed his eyes and tried to hide his heart breaking but knew it was his fault so he had nobody to blame but himself.

He turned to walk out of the lab, sadly hanging his head in shame. He tried one more time though.

"Bones, you still have the key to my place. I just want you to know that you are always welcome and that I want you to keep it."

With that, he left the love of his life in the lab, wondering if he would ever see her again but knowing that the ball was in her court.

After he dropped his stuff off at his apartment, he went out for a long run, hoping it would not only exhaust him and get his mind off of his Bones. Sadly, it only did the first of those two things and when he hit the books that night, he found the combination of not sleeping and his run made him conk out on the couch before he wanted to.

********

Tempe had no idea why she thought this was a good idea. She was at his front door, his key in her hand, ready to go in and talk to him. She couldn't admit it to him at the lab earlier in the day but she missed him terribly over the last four days. She was not ready to forgive him yet but after his talk with her at the lab, she was ready to listen to what he had to say.

Now if she could only get up the courage to go in his apartment.

She had almost convinced herself that it was too late and she would just talk to tomorrow when she heard a shout inside his apartment. Worried, she flew to the door and threw it open, frantically looking around inside. He was on his couch and still looked to be asleep but he was twitching, almost jumping from side to side, as if fighting an invisible enemy. Sweat was pouring down his face to his neck and bare chest and for a minute, Tempe could have sworn she saw tears mingling with it.

As she ran over to him to wake him up, she saw scars that crossed over his shoulders and down his chest, making her understand maybe some of the reason he didn't want to talk to her. She knew as well as anyone that memories could be more painful than any physical pain. And since it looked like he was in the middle of one right now, she went to do wake him up.

She gently sat on the edge of the couch and grabbed his shoulder, shaking it. "Booth, can you hear me? You need to wake up," she told him softly yet firmly.

At her touch, he shot up, opening his eyes and gasping for breath. The look in his eyes was wild, feral and he crawled back to the corner of the couch, getting as far away from her as possible. After a moment and he got his breathing under control, she reached out and put a hand on his forearm. His eyes snapped up at her and she saw that the tears she thought were there earlier were running down his cheeks. She reached out for him and he hesitated for a moment crawling into her embrace, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Bones," he said into her skin. "I freaked when you saw the pictures because I need you so much and I was so afraid-"

"Shh," she hushed him gently, her hand brushing through his short, spiky hair. "Let's just get some sleep. Everything will look better in the morning."

He pulled back and she framed his face with her hands, giving him a quick peck on the lips. She got up from the couch quickly to get her books and sat down again, reaching over to pull him down so that his head lay in her lap. She stroked his head again with one hand and opened one of her textbooks with the other, soothing him back to sleep while she studied.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I am so sorry about the delay between updating. Please know that I am still actively working on this story but I am three weeks away from graduation and real life got in the way for a bit. But I'm back now and will be updating this story every Tuesday until it is finished. Thanks for sticking with this story and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5

When he woke the following morning, he definitely was not on his normal pillow, unless his normal pillow was made of denim. Shrugging off the last vestiges of sleep, he turned his head to find that he was comfortably lying on his girlfriend's lap as she was sleeping upright on his couch with her book lying over the arm of his couch. He reached his hand up to rub his face and felt the left over salt from the dried sweat and tear tracts from his nightmare last night. It had been a while since he had a nightmare that was so real and so violent. And it touched him and also made him feel like crap to know that no matter how badly he had treated her, she was there for him when he needed her. He needed to make it right and he needed to make it right as soon as possible. He was not going to lose the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Slowly and without waking her, using his sniper skills for good, he got up from the couch and grabbed the throw from the back, covering her after she shivered slightly in the cool morning. He went over to the drawer where he hid the pictures that she found a week ago. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his past per se but it was something that he didn't like to think about more than he had to. There were the good parts; the fishing trips with Pops and Jared, the football games in high school, and the good friends he had made in the Army. But the bad parts were the ones that haunted him when he went to sleep so he made sure that there were not any reminders of it when he was awake.

Deciding to make her breakfast, he went into his small kitchen and started the coffee. It was still early on this Saturday morning and he wanted to let her sleep as long as possible. Leaving the photos on the table in the kitchen, he returned and started making the batter for pancakes. He might not be much of a cook, but pancakes and Pops' famous grilled cheese sandwiches he could do.

Even though his back was to her, he was acutely aware of any movement that was going on in his apartment. He heard the couch creak as she shifted and Booth could tell that she was starting to wake up. He was used to being in tune with his environment; it was the only way he could have survived as a sniper, but with her, it was like he could feel her every move, her every breath. Her soft footsteps padded across the floor and out of the corner of his eye he saw her sit down at the table. Suddenly, he felt awkward. He hated appearing weak, which was exactly how he knew he must have looked last night, but he also knew that he would have to swallow his pride in order to get her back. And he was more than willing to do it.

He set the batter aside to allow it to air out for a little bit and turned towards her. She was wringing her hands in her lap and he sat down next to her and covered her hands with one of his own, his bigger hand covering the both of hers. She looked up at him and it broke his heart to see the hesitancy in her posture.

"I'm sorry," he told her simply.

She sighed and slipped her hands around his own. "I know," she said. "But I'm still angry with you."

He nodded. "I know you are Bones and you have every right to be. I treated you horribly. I can only hope that you will give me another chance to make it right. I really care about you, Bones. I want to be with you," he told her as he squeezed her hand, his other one fidgeting on the top of the table with the napkin lying there.

She gave him a slight smile and reached out with her right and put it on his cheek. He leaned into her touch, grateful for the contact. "I care about you too, Booth. But if this is ever going to work we need to be open with each other. Agreed?" she asked him.

He connected with her cerulean blue eyes, not breaking contact with her and wanting her to see that he was serious about this, about them. He had never seen someone so beautiful, even though her hair was messy from sleeping with her head against the back of the couch and her clothes were wrinkled from the night before.

"I promise, Bones. I'll do whatever it takes."

She seemed satisfied with this answer and gave him her full smile. Booth felt a weight being lifted off of his shoulders as she leaned forward and gave him a short but sweet kiss on the lips. He couldn't wipe the goofy grin off of his face as she leaned back and he didn't care. Life was good again.

"Let me make you breakfast and then I'll tell you about these pictures," he said standing up and walking into the kitchen. At her look, he replied, "I'm serious, Bones. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

She gave him a grateful look and then changed he subject. "Shouldn't you be doing more cooking and less talking? I'm starving," she teased him.

The goofy grin was back on his face as he took a pan out of the cupboard and turned on the stove. "Yes, ma'am," he replied playfully.

* * *

She watched him move around the kitchen in his sweatpants and white T-shirt, watching his muscular back move when while he made their breakfast. She was happy that their first fight was partially resolved but she also knew that they still had a ways to go. Judging by the nightmare he walked in on last night, there was a lot in his past that she didn't know about and it saddened her that the kind, gentle man she saw before her had gone through anything horrific.

Her reaction to him last night also made her realize how hard she had fallen for him. When she saw him on the couch, sweating and crying, she wanted to take it all away from him. She had her own nightmares, mostly about the fate of her missing parents and brother, and she knew how terrifying it was to wake up from them alone. She had never felt this close to anyone else that was not her immediate family and it felt good. It felt good to know that someone out there was wondering where she was and if she was okay. She knew that this is going past 'caring' and on the fast rack to 'love' and it was exciting to her.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sight of a pancake flipping through the air. She got up to see past the counter and saw the pancake make a smooth landing into the pan.

"Impressed?" he asked her over his shoulder, giving her what she had labeled his 'charm smile.'

She smiled at him back and walked toward the kitchen. "In fact, I am. Can you teach me how to do that?"

"I don't know," he teased her. "Do you think you can learn?"

"Not only am I a genius, Booth, but I think you will find that I have a disturbingly steep learning curve," she answered, now leaning back against the counter in the kitchen. She saw a feral look on his face as he stalked over to her and put both of his hands on either side of her, effectively trapping her within the circle of his arms. She giggled as he leaned down to kiss her and she responded enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him down to deepen the kiss. She playfully pushed her tongue into his mouth and smiled into the kiss when she heard him groan at the contact. They finally broke apart when they heard the sizzle on the stove, indicating the pancake was done. Booth gave her one last kiss before he turned around and tended to the stove. She peered over his shoulder as she walked about behind him and saw him pour some more batter in the pan.

"Come here, Bones. I'll show you how it's done," he said as he gestured over to her.

She stepped in front of the stove and grabbed the handle. She felt Booth step up behind her and put one of his hands over hers on the pan handle and he handed her the spatula with his other hand. She froze at the feeling of his chest against her back, closing her eyes and leaning back for a moment and enjoying the intimacy of the moment. Two people cooking breakfast together on a Saturday morning and she was surprised at how much she enjoyed the moment.

"Okay, Bones, this is what you do," she felt more than heard him say against her ear in a low, gravely voice. "Once you see the bubbles forming on this side of the pancake, it's ready to flip." Tempe tried to focus on the task at hand but he was making it nearly impossible with his proximity to her.

"Okay, I see one now," she told him, pointing to the bubble on the batter with the spatula.

"Then grab the handle with both hands," he instructed her as he put his hands over hers where they grabbed the handle. "And flip it!"

She made the same motion she saw him make earlier and smiled as she saw the pancake flip in the air. She moved the pan to into the pancakes path and let it drop into the pan. Unfortunately though, she had interrupted the cake in the wrong part of its flight path and it broke it the pan. She frowned at this development and felt his chest vibrate behind her with laughter.

"What happened?" she said in a tone that she belatedly realized was very close to a whine. She felt Booth's arm move from the stove top to around her waist and his thumbs softly rubbed against her hips, making her displeasure over the messed up pancake disappear. A lot of things seemed better when she was in his arms.

"Don't worry about it, Bones," he said as he placed a kiss on her shoulder. "I'm almost done in here so why don't you go out to the table and I'll bring the pancakes out in a minute."

She turned around in his arms and placed her arms around his hips, mirroring the way he had her wrapped in his arms. "And then we'll talk?" she asked him, pinning him with a hopeful stare.

He nodded. "Anything you want to know, Bones."

She kissed him lightly before disentangling herself from him and grabbed two cups of coffee before she sat down at the table, readying herself for what was to come.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hello again! Thanks for the response to the last chapter. I am so glad that people are still interested in this story. This chapter is a little angsty and short but is necessary for their journey and the end of this chapter seemed like a natural break. Enjoy and I'll see you again next week!

Chapter 6

She could get used to this, she thought as the warm pancakes filled up her stomach. Not only could she get used to his cooking but eating the meal with someone she loved was a good feeling as well. Before her parents left, her family did family meals every night and she missed the easy camaraderie once she was in the foster system with families that did not even have enough room at the table for everyone to sit. But as much as she enjoyed the calm and quiet of their breakfast, she knew they had to discuss what he was hiding from her and clear that elephant from the room before they could really enjoy themselves.

As she looked over at her boyfriend, she could tell he came to the same conclusion as he grabbed her empty plate and his own and dumped them in the sink before coming back over to the table. She watched silently as he picked up the about 10 pictures that had fallen on the table and carefully thumbed through each one before seemingly finding one that he wanted to start with. Catching his eyes with her own, it pained her to see the hurt so blatant in them as the memories of his past washed over him but she knew that this had to happen and they would be stronger for it.

Moving her chair closer to his own, almost to the point where she was almost sitting on top of him, she reached her arm up and began absently stroking through the short hairs on the back of his head. She felt him lean into the touch and take a deep breath before she heard him speak.

"This one is when I was about 8 years old," he started and she could feel the tension in his body. Continuing her stroking, she peeked over his shoulder to see the picture of the two young boys, arms slung over each other with fishing poles in the other hand, each grinning at the camera with matching buzz haircuts. But once again using her superior observation skills, she could tell that all was not well with this picture. The older boy, who she could tell was Booth, was sporting a split lip and even though she was horrible with reading people, there was something protective in his stance with the other boy, something she remembered that Russ used to do when she was being picked on in school.

"That's my younger brother, Jared. He is three years younger than me," he continued but then stopped and Tempe could tell he didn't know where to go next. She decided to help him out and maybe draw him out of the past a little bit.

"What's he doing now?" she said softly, not wanting to startle him. Somehow though, the tension in his body seemed to increase with her question and she re-doubled her efforts to try and calm him with her touch.

"When I was in the Army, I received some commendations that came with some benefits. One of them was that I could go and attend one of the military schools once my tour was over but I just wanted to get out as fast as I could. So, I was able to transfer that credit to Jared and he is now at Annapolis Naval Academy in his second year. Damn kid probably became a squid just to spite me," he finished under his breath.

Tempe frowned, not knowing how his brother could transform into a squid and even if it was scientifically possible for a human to become a sea creature, she was not sure why this would upset Booth. She filled it away to ask him about later as this statement seemed to metaphorically open the floodgates as Booth kept talking.

"But its not like Jared had any other options, you know? He was kind of a screw up kid, always getting in trouble and stuff. But he never really faced any consequences because I was always there to bail him out of trouble and take the heat for him."

"Why?" Tempe interrupted, caught up in his story. She felt him take another deep breath as he continued to stare at the picture.

"My dad drank," he started and Tempe had to stop herself from reacting to the statement. One of her foster fathers "drank" as well and she knew how terrifying that could be. Luckily, she was in a home with eight other kids so the abuse she suffered was infrequent but it was still the most stressful environment she had been in.

"When this picture was taken, Pops had taken me and Jared fishing for the weekend. I didn't care where he had taken us, I was just glad to be out of my house. Sometimes my dad would get…out of control. I had to protect Jared. He was so little and he didn't deserve this…life. I got the shiner in this picture from stepping in front of a punch a couple of days before the weekend. But this was a good weekend. Just me, Jared, and Pops sitting on the boat in the middle of the lake, drinking sodas, and getting sunburns."

Tempe let him pause for a minute, letting him absorb himself in the good memories of the weekend away before asking another question. She stopped stroking the back of his head for a moment and leaned forward to place a kiss on his warm, cloth covered shoulder. He really did have excellent acromion and she rested her cheek against the muscle-covered bone and turned her eyes once more to the pictures in his hand before asking her question.

"I saw a woman in some of the pictures. Who was she?" she asked softly as she slipped her arms around his body from behind now practically sitting on the chair behind him. She felt him tense even further in her arms as he flipped until the faded picture showed a young woman with a baby boy in her arms, cradling him as if he was the most precious possession in the whole world. She was smiling softly at the camera and Tempe thought she looked happy. After he stopped at this particular picture, his left hand left the table and found one of hers that was resting on his chest and took it in his hand, squeezing it hard as the memories assaulted him.

"This was my mother. She wrote jingles for a local ad agency." At this statement, he paused again and this time, Tempe was content to let him take his time. She was so proud that he had told her this much when it was obvious that he would rather not talk about any of this stuff at all.

"When I was seven, she got sick. We were really poor; Bones, and we definitely didn't have health insurance. At the time, I didn't understand why the doctors could not make her better but right before my eighth birthday, she passed away. Dad drank before that but it escalated when she died. But she tried her best, Bones. She really loved me and Jared and even dad."

During his talk, his grip on her hand increased and she began stroking over the area of skin on his chest that her other hand was resting on. Even though it happened a long time ago, it was obvious that he was still in a lot of pain and she knew why. She knew that he probably had not had the time to grieve for his mother. He was a scared little boy, not understanding why his mother died and knowing that he had to protect his little brother from their abusive, drunk father. She knew she had some issues to work out herself regarding her parent's disappearance that had been put on hold because of her sudden change in environment and the shock of entering the foster system.

But her issues were for another time; right now she had a man in her arms that she loved that was seriously hurting. She managed to get even closer to him and reached around to gently kiss his cheek, at this point shifting herself so she was sitting behind him on the chair with her legs bent on either side of his hips. It wasn't the most comfortable position but she didn't care; he needed her now and that was all that mattered.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Now back to the light-hearted, B&B fluff! Thanks for the reviews and the story alerts. Like I said, I'm just glad that people are still interested in this story.

Chapter 7

November 1996

It was about two weeks away from the Thanksgiving holiday and Booth was happy to have a break. Sitting in class, he had to start doodling on his notepapers so he didn't fall asleep. He never knew that college was going to be this hard; all the midterms and papers had really taken a toll on his sleep. Well, that and the fact that a certain anthropology student was also sharing the small couch with him might have something to do with the lack of sleep as well.

Ever since their talk last month, Bones had practically moved in with him. The small dresser in his apartment was now half hers as well as the closest. He had never seen so many fruits and vegetables in his apartment either; her vegetarian lifestyle was encroaching on his meat eating ways. When he would complain to her about it, she always rolled her eyes, knowing that he really didn't mind. The small apartment that he had sparsely furnished with his saved salary from the Army had somewhat turned into a home. She added more personal touches around the place, adding some plants to the windows, magnets to the refrigerator, and even some pictures of the two of them that she had taken when they went out.

It had become so homey that he was considering inviting Pops and Grams up to visit them for Thanksgiving. He, of course, had to talk to Bones about it, but he didn't think she would mind. They had talked a lot more about their respective pasts and he knew that she was planning on spending the Thanksgiving holiday in the lab. The grandfather that had gotten her out of the foster system was going to be out of the country and lived in Chicago anyway so she had decided a while ago that she would be staying at the university. That second she told him that, Booth knew that he would be staying as well. The thought of being away from her for even a week was too depressing.

People closing their books woke him out of his daydream and he hurriedly put his books back in his bag, excited to be done for the day. And it wasn't just any day; today was his 25th birthday. For his last couple of birthdays, he wasn't even in the country let alone have any plans with a beautiful woman who just happened to be his girlfriend. He was slightly disappointed when she told him that she had lab meetings all day and wouldn't be able to see him until that night but that was the woman he fell in love with and he accepted that part of her.

He accepted every little part of her. His relationship with her was like none other. Not only had he fallen head over heels for her in just a couple of months, but also this was the longest he had been in a relationship with someone that he had not slept with. And he realized that he didn't even care. He would wait for her as long as it took. They were 'sleeping' together every night anyway and he loved the fact that he woke up every morning with her cuddled into his chest and his arms wrapped around her. He liked to think it was because she enjoyed snuggling with him and not just because the couch was so small that it really didn't fit two people and in order not to fall off, she pretty much had to sleep on top of him.

Walking across campus towards the gym, he suddenly realized he forgot his gym shoes at his apartment. Mentally groaning but realizing that he couldn't work out in the sandals he was currently wearing, he trudged back across campus to his apartment.

When he got outside his apartment building, he noticed a truck outside with from one of the local thrift stores and he wondered who would be moving into the building. He didn't think there were any vacancies in the building. And as he walked up the stairs to his third floor apartment, he noticed one of the movers he saw downstairs was coming out of his open apartment door.

"Hey!" he shouted at the guy, dropping his backpack as he ran up to the door of his place. He might not own much, but he sure as hell wanted to keep what he had.

"Booth!" he heard as he saw Bones emerge from his apartment. "What are you doing here?"

He stared at her for a moment, not sure what was going on. Why were these people here? And why wasn't she at the lab?

"I forgot my gym shoes so I came back to get them," he said, trying to peer around where she was blocking the door. "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be at the lab all day today?"

When she didn't say anything and didn't move, he decided to kill two birds with one stone. "Not that I'm complaining you're here, though," he said as he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her, leaning down to give her a kiss. She responded exactly how he knew she would; she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down further to deepen the kiss. During the kiss, he cracked one eye open to look into his apartment and gasped at the result, giving her the opportunity to slip her tongue into his mouth. The kiss distracted him for the next couple of moments before he remembered what had caused his surprise in the first place.

"Bones, what is going on in here?" he asked once he broke the kiss and grabbed her hand, moving through the front door of his apartment. He was amazed by what he saw.

It looked like his tiny studio apartment had doubled in size since he left this morning. It was still in chaos but there was a curtain rod that hung across the narrowed walls in the back of the apartment with a gray curtain hanging from it, currently pulled to one side by the bathroom. Beyond it, where his old couch used to sit across from the closet and the small TV, there was a full sized mattress with new dark green cotton sheets and a comforter on a bed frame that was obviously second hand but very well maintained and very ornate as well. As he continued to look around his apartment, he saw that his TV had been moved out of the back of the apartment and had been placed on a table in front of the old couch, which had received some new pillows and a throw blanket with Penn States' logo on it. The dining room table had some new place mats on it and it looked like his old wooden chairs had been polished.

He was in shock. All around the apartment, there were framed pictures of some of the national monuments and painted pictures that were beautiful but he that didn't recognize. He almost cried and felt his throat close up when he walked over and saw a photo wall right behind the dining room table; some of the pictures were of him and Bones and he saw the pictures that he had hidden in the bottom of his drawer were now rightfully displayed on the wall as well.

As he continued to stare at the wall, he felt Bones come up behind him and wrap her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. He took his hands and brought them up to squeeze her hands as they rested on his chest.

"Happy birthday, Booth," she whispered. He wanted to thank her, ask her how she had done this, but he couldn't talk he was so overwhelmed by gratitude. She managed to answer all of his questions without him even asking.

"I got everything from my research stipend at a thrift store, but everything is in good condition. I heard you talking to your grandfather the other day on the phone and knew you wanted to invite him here for Thanksgiving but I heard you tell him that you didn't have enough space. Now, it looks like a real apartment, with a bed and everything. And since your damn couch is so small I have been loosing sleep. I'm sorry if it was presumptuous of me to do this for you, but I love you and since I pretty much live here-"

He turned around and kissed her to stop her rambling, trying to put all of his love and gratitude into the act. His head was still spinning; nobody had done anything this nice for him, ever. It gave him a sense of permanence that he had never known. As a kid, his dad moved them from dingy apartment to dingy apartment until his grandparents had taken him and Jared in and in the Army; he was constantly moving all the time. Now, he had a bed, pictures, a couch; the whole nine yards. And even better, her personal touch was all over the apartment.

He broke the kiss but kept her firmly in the circle of his arms and rested his forehead against hers, looking deep into her eyes for his next statement. "I love you, Bones. This is the best gift anyone has ever given to me and I can't thank you enough. I mean look at this place!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her hand again to look around the apartment some more. "Who painted these pictures?"

"A local Chicago artist that I found painting in a park, her name is Angela Montenegro. She is extremely adept at recognizing underlying features." At his look of confusion, she continued. "Well, it still needs some clean up," Bones was saying as he dragged her around from one corner of the apartment to the other. "And it was supposed to be a surprise tonight after I had cleaned it up! But you came home too early."

He turned around and thought her pouting was just about the cutest thing he had ever seen. He kissed the pout away.

"We can clean it up together, Bones. Let me grab my backpack from the hallway and then I am going to call Pops and Grams right away and invite them over for Thanksgiving," he told her. He was about to run out into the hallway to grab his bag when he pulled her to him one more time. "And then, after we are done cleaning up, we are going to celebrate my birthday…privately," he finished with a smirk as a blush colored her face.

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Two weeks had passed since her boyfriend's birthday and things could not be going any better. The night of his birthday, after they had cleaned the place up and celebrated his birthday with dinner and a quiet evening spent cuddling and kissing, he asked her to move in with him. She readily agreed, already rationalizing that most of her things were at his apartment anyway and it would free up the room she was currently living in for a student who needed it. She had never thought that the simple act of co-habitating with another human being could be so gratifying. And they were not even having sex. She could not imagine how gratifying it would be once they did decide to take that step in their relationship.

But she was nervous. Booth's grandparents were coming to visit them an about an hour and she really wanted them to like her. Tempe had never placed much stock in what other people thought of her; anthropologically speaking, humans tended to rank themselves in a hierarchy and she knew that some people would not like her because her natural intelligence placed her at the top of the hierarchy. Booth had assured her that his grandparent's would love her because he loved her but she was still nervous. She still wasn't sure why Booth loved her. She didn't know what she had done to deserve someone like him in her life but she wasn't going to question it.

"Hey, Bones," she heard as the door to the apartment open. He had gone out to get some wine for their Thanksgiving dinner. They had been in the kitchen all day preparing their dinner, Booth teasing her mercilessly about being a vegetarian on Thanksgiving. But she had managed to find a tofu recipe that she could eat and they prepared all the other Thanksgiving treats they could afford, even if it meant not having a whole turkey.

They did pretty good considering their limited budget, she thought. Tempe thought the most fun was going shopping with Booth for the items yesterday. The simplicity of shopping with someone was something she never thought she would enjoy so much but she was finding she enjoyed everything when she was with Booth. It was as if his presence alone made everything in her world right.

Of course, that wasn't exactly the case. She hadn't told Booth yet, but Dr. Stires had denied her request to stay for the rest of the year and she had to return to Northwestern for the beginning of next semester. She had a feeling she was being told to return because she rejected his sexual advances but since she couldn't prove it, she couldn't fight the decision. The news devastated her but she knew that she and Booth could handle it; they were meant to be together and if Tempe believed in soul mates, she would have no doubt that her and Booth were just that.

She felt Booth sneak up behind her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"It smells great in here!" she heard him exclaim. She could feel the excitement rolling off him in waves at the thought of his grandparents coming to visit and it was contagious. He was practically bouncing around the apartment and she couldn't help but giggle at his antics.

"Booth, I know you are excited, but if you don't stop moving around, you are going to knock something over! We have spent too long cleaning this place up and getting ready for today for that to happen so if you cannot occupy yourself, I suggest you go watch the football game that you turned on this morning."

She looked up to see him smiling at her. "Bones," he started. He paused for a moment and Tempe was worried that she had gone too far. "That was so hot!"

Suddenly, she didn't know if she wanted to kiss that grin off of his face or slap it off. She was saved from her decision from a knock on the door. Her anxiety tripled in that instant, and even though she could not quantify that number, that is what it felt like.

"Here we go!" he said and she washed her hands quickly in anticipation of meeting her boyfriend's grandparents. He ran over to the door with a look of pure joy on his face and Tempe fell more in love with him in that instant because she had seen that same look when he saw her.

"Shrimp!"

"Pops!"

She smiled as she saw the two men embrace. Booth's grandparents were of average height and if one could look welcoming, they did. Their clothes were old but warm and Tempe could instantly see the connection between them and their grandson. After hugging his grandfather, Booth switched and wrapped up his petite grandmother in a bear hug, practically lifting her off the floor.

Booth invited them in the apartment and bounded over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and she felt his hand on her hip.

"Pops, Grams, this is my girlfriend, Temperance Brennan. Bones, these are my grandparents, Hank and Joyce Booth."

Tempe stuck her hand out, prepared to shake both of their hands when Hank wrapped her up in a similar bear hug. Panicked, she looked over to Booth to see him smiling to her, his eyes reassuring her that everything was fine.

"It's good to meet you, Mr. Booth," she said as he let her go.

"Oh, please. Call me Hank, sweetheart. It sure smells good in here. Shrimp, is the game on?"

As the boys went to the couch to watch the football game, Mrs. Booth followed her into the kitchen. When Tempe looked into the older woman's eyes, she saw her boyfriend's eyes staring back at her; dark brown and full of compassion and love.

"It's good to meet you too, Mrs. Booth."

"Oh, dear, please call me Joyce. It is an absolute pleasure to meet the girl who has inspired such as positive change in my grandson over the last couple of months." Tempe blushed at the complement. "What should I call you, dear? The only thing I have heard my grandson refer to you as is 'Bones'."

She laughed at that. "Yes, it is a nickname that I have been unable to break him of but I have determined that the moniker is a sign of affection. But, please, call me Tempe. Can I get you anything to drink?" Tempe asked her, watching closely as Joyce looked around the apartment. She was nervous about what the older woman would think; after all, all she would have to do was use the bathroom to figure out that they were living together. And while Booth assured her that this would not be a problem, she was still worried about his grandparent's approval of her.

"I would like some water, if you wouldn't mind," Joyce responded as Tempe saw her stop in front of the picture wall. Tempe quickly got the water, checked on the food and once she was satisfied that it would be ready shortly, she sat down at the table with the water, nervously bouncing her leg up and down under the table.

Joyce must have noticed this because when she sat down at the table with her, she put her hand under the table to still the bouncing.

"It's okay, dear. Hank and I approved of you before we walked in the door today," Joyce told her with a kind smile. Her smile immediately put Tempe at ease but then Joyce became serious. "Tempe, dear, I don't know how much Seeley has told you but if the pictures on the wall mean anything, he has told you quite a bit." Tempe nodded at this statement, affirming its truth. "He was a real mess when he got out of the Army. We were worried about him moving up here by himself but ever since school has started, he has changed. He is eating again; he's working out, taking care of himself. And if I had to guess the reason why, I would say that it is because of you, dear. You are all he ever talks about. Hank and I were so excited to met the young lady that has inspired such a change in our Seeley." At this point, Joyce reached put to gently grasp her hand. "We can't thank you enough, dear."

Tempe was trying not to cry at Joyce's statement, so much so that she said the first thing that came to mind. "Well, he never stops eating now."

Temporarily horrified by what she just said, she smiled when Joyce gave a hearty laugh at her statement.

"What are you two giggling about over here?" she heard Booth say before she felt his arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. She turned her head to look at him as she put her hands on his forearms, squeezing them affectionately. He was bending down behind the chair so his face was even with her own and she was struck by the look of joy on his features. His eyes were twinkling with happiness and she was always surprised at the amount of love she saw from him when he looked at her. Forgetting that his grandparents were in the room, she put one of her hands on his cheek and kissed his lips, allowing them to touch longer than appropriate on the company of others. He certainly didn't seem to mind though.

"All right, Shrimp, enough of that. Let's eat! We have an hour before the next game starts," Pops said as they broke apart, both smiling at each other.

Much later, after the eating and cleaning had been done, they were all huddled around Booth's small TV watching the football game. Hank and Joyce were on the couch while her and Booth were sitting on the floor. Booth was leaning back on the front of the couch and Tempe was curled up between his legs with his arms wrapped around her waist and her head nestled against his chest. While the boys were still very much into the game, Tempe could feel her eyelids getting heavy, the quantity of food she consumed was catching up with her. Just as she was nodding off, she felt Booth press a light kiss to her temple.

"Go to sleep, Bones. I'll bring you to bed when they leave. I love you."

At those words, she drifted off in the arms of the man she loved, surrounded by the family that she had missed for so long.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

December 1996

She was in the lab, staring intently at the bones lying before her. The week before, they were wrapping up the dig when they found this set of skeletal remains, lying right outside the dig zone they had been using. Tempe was thrilled because it was her find, her bones. She had noticed a disturbance in the ground right next to the designated area the university had allowed them. After convincing Dr. Stires to let her dig a little, her and a couple colleagues spent the next day in the freezing cold digging down 5 feet and finding this completely intact skeleton.

Preliminary findings showed that this was the find they were looking for. According to the first couple of tests they had performed, these bones were of a fifteenth century Native American, most likely part of the Shawnee Tribe. Since Tempe found the bones that meant that she was appointed the principal investigator on the case even though she was the youngest in the group. She was not only pleased because this meant her chance of publishing something that would be read was increased, it also meant that she might be able to petition Dr. Stires to stay for the next semester.

She told Booth, her boyfriend of 4 months and her soul mate, that she was supposed to go back to Northwestern after the Christmas holiday right after the Thanksgiving holiday. She had to restrain him from going and talking to Dr. Stires himself, knowing that it wouldn't help the situation but could definitely adversely effect the situation. And the last thing she wanted was for something to happen to Booth because him and Dr. Stires' discussion got…heated. The news was devastating for both of them but they both agreed that their relationship was something that would survive the distance. They immediately began thinking of ways to travel to see one another and what weekends they could. Tempe knew there was no way she was going to let something like this drag her and her boyfriend apart.

Currently, said boyfriend was sitting at one of the tables in the back of the lab, looking miserable and trying to study for the 3 finals he had next week. Tempe glanced quickly back him and smiled at his pout, thinking he looked absolutely adorable. Of course, if she told him that he would frown even more and in typical alpha male fashion proclaim that he was not pouting as to not show any other males that he was weak. He had taken to studying at the lab over the last week. She had been so wrapped up in the find that she spent more time here and claiming that he just wanted to be close to her, he took over the table near the break room, quietly studying while she worked. She knew that he really just wanted to spend every minute they had together and she was not going to object; she wanted him here as well.

"Tempe," she heard. She reluctantly looked up from the bones on the table to see Rachel, one of the other grad students walking toward her. Looking at the time, she realized that between studying the bones and studying Booth, the afternoon had flown by.

"Yes, Rachel?" she replied. Rachel was a leggy, blonde anthropology grad student in Dr. Stire's lab. While she was a genius, her…extracurricular activities were not something that Tempe approved of. Let's just say that her first publication might not have been because her article was groundbreaking.

"Congratulations on this find! I'm pretty jealous that you are the lead on this one though. Who knows what mysteries it holds," Rachel started but Tempe could see that her attention wasn't focused on the bones on the table.

"I don't mean to be rude, but did you want something, Rachel?"

"Do you know the hottie who has taken up residence in the lab over the last couple of days?" Rachel said bluntly. That was something Tempe could respect about her; she never minced her words. But Tempe saw this as an opportunity to finally show Rachel that she had something she wanted and decided to run with it.

"I do know him," Tempe answered. "In fact, I could introduce him to you. Would you like that?"

Rachel smiled and she felt bad for a moment but then remembered having to endure listening to Rachel prattle on and on about her adventurous weekends and the bad feeling went away. "Follow me."

Tempe ripped off her lab gloves as she walked down the stairs of the forensic platform, Rachel following closely behind her. As she approached, she saw Booth look up, his old sniper skills still very much with him as he flinched slightly at their footsteps. She gave him a smile and loved the fact that his eyes lit up as he smiled right back, that all it took was a look from her to brighten up his day, knowing that the reverse was true as well.

She waltzed right up to him and parked herself in his lap, planting her lips on his for a sensual kiss. He seemed surprised at first, but then responded enthusiastically to her touch, and she shivered slightly when she felt his hand thread itself into her hair, pulling her closer. She was very tempted to forget where she was but realized that this was her professional environment and while this was a fun exercise, she needed to stop. Too bad he made it so damn hard to stop.

Finally pulling her lips away from his, she turned to look at Rachel, pleased to see that Booth had a slightly dazed look in his eyes.

"Rachel, this is my boyfriend, Seeley Booth. Booth, this is my colleague, Rachel Whitman."

Tempe smiled as she heard Booth respond with a polite greeting and looked to see Rachel with a stunned expression on her face. Booth's hand was still on her lower back on the spot that seemed to be made just for his hand and he began rubbing a soothing rhythm across her back. She was still firmly in his lap and was not planning on getting up any time soon. This was fast becoming her new favorite spot, between snuggling on the couch and in a lounge chair in the library; she had spent a lot of time here over the last couple of weeks.

"Um, it's good to meet you, Seeley. I, um, I have some work to get to. I guess I'll see you later, Tempe," Rachel mumbled as she walked away. Tempe watched her go for a moment before almost falling off of Booth's lap when he started tickling her.

"That was not very nice, Bones," he said as he attacked her sides, tickling her mercilessly. She was giggling and squirming, trying to get away from his hands. Stopping for a moment as she felt the attack stop, his hands gripped her tightly and she felt him securing her in his arms. "Not that I am complaining, mind you," she felt more than hear him say against her ear, shivering as he finished the statement with a light kiss against her temple. In a clingy mood, she wrapped her arms around his torso and laid her head against his shoulder, giving his neck a light kiss as she settled in. She knew that this was not even close to the professionalism she wanted to maintain in the lab but for a moment she wasn't the prodigy undergraduate student; she was simply a girl wanting to be held by the man she loved.

They stayed that way for several minutes knowing they were alone in the lab, just enjoying the relative quiet, with only the fans from the air filtering system reaching their ears. Sighing, Tempe realized she needed to get back to work. As she started to pull away from him, she felt him grunt and tighten his arms around her, burying his face in her neck. She smiled slightly. Apparently she wasn't the only one feeling clingy. Indulging him for a moment, she ran her fingers through his short brown hair and pressed a couple of quick kisses to his face.

"Booth, the sooner I get done here, the sooner we can go home," she told him gently. She wasn't sure when she started calling his apartment 'home' but it just seemed to fit. It was a word she hadn't used in a long time but she knew that's what it was.

"I know, I know," she heard him grumble as she felt him release her but not before pulling her down for one last kiss.

She quickly settled back into a rhythm on the forensic platform, looking over each segment of each bone to look for any anomalies, whether it was a healed fracture or an intentional mark caused by some ritual. Using a tape recorder to dictate her findings, she meticulously documented everything about the bones, doing so to remember her initial findings and because she knew Booth just liked listening to the sound of her voice even if he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Tempe?" she heard a male voice say, breaking into her haze of academia. For a moment she was confused; it couldn't be Booth who just said that, he only called her 'Bones.' Looking up, she found Dr. Stires at the bottom of the platform. "Tempe, could I see you in my office for a moment?"

"Of course, Dr. Stires. I'll be right there," she replied, shutting off the tape recorder and taking off her lab gloves. She could feel Booth's eyes boring into her from behind her but she was determined not to look his way, following Dr. Stires into his office and waiting to see what that would bring.

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Booth tried to focus on his studying but to no avail; he couldn't stop glancing up at the closed office door on the other side of the lab, wondering what they could possibly be discussing. After all, it had been twenty minutes since she went in there.

Personally, he felt like going in there and wringing the professor's neck. It was clear from the first day that Booth interrupted their meeting that Stires didn't like him very much and the fact that he was currently dating the most brilliant anthropology student in the last decade didn't exactly thrill the guy. But Booth didn't care. Like anything could take him away from Bones anyway.

He still wasn't sure how they were going to handle the distance that was going to be put between them in a couple of weeks but he had a plan for a memorable Christmas vacation before they were separated. He hadn't told Bones yet, but he asked Pops for the car and he planned a trip to New York City for the two of them. One of his Army buddies had a place in the city and was going to be at his parent's place for the holidays so Booth had asked if him and Bones could use the space and luckily, he agreed. He wanted to do something special to pay her back for the amazing birthday gift she had given him; even more special now that she was leaving soon. Whenever he would be in his place, he would think of her because she left little pieces of herself all around the apartment, from the plants on the windowsill to the pictures on the wall.

Looking down at his book, he realized that he had been staring at the same page for the last 30 minutes or so, obviously not getting very much done. He rubbed his hands over face and up into his hair, suddenly feeling very tired. All of this studying was making his head hurt and he had the feeling that if he studied anymore, his brain was going to start coming out of his ears. It was at times like these that he wished he could remove the Philadelphia Flyers roster from the 1980s and replace it with the current national statistics for crime in the ages from 13-18. Maybe Bones knew some super smart way to store information…

The clicking of the door in the otherwise silent lab startled him and he looked up to see his Bones coming out of the office, alone. He squinted, trying to read the expression on her face but it was blank and he couldn't tell what she was thinking. And that made him nervous.

"Everything okay, Bones?" he asked as she walked over to his table.

She nodded. "Can we just go home now?" she replied, gathering her things that were on the table as well. She seemed to be in a rush to get out of here and even though Booth really wanted to talk to her about what just happened, he realized this wasn't the time or the place.

"Sure, Bones. Just give me a minute to pack up my stuff," he said as he too collected his books.

As they walked out of the lab, he couldn't help but shoot a glare at Stires, who was still sitting in his office as he put his hand on Bones' back. He knew that Bones would be furious at his 'alpha-male' behavior but he couldn't help it; he wanted the whole world to know that she belonged to him and that she owned his heart as well.

The walk back to the apartment was done in silence, both of them left to their own thoughts. Bones had slipped her hand in his once they exited the lab and after he noticed her shiver in the cold December night, he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her flush to his body. He smiled slightly as he felt her slip an arm around his back and settle her head on his shoulder as their steps fell in time. She seemed as tired as he felt and he was looking forward to getting into the warmth of his apartment and out of this weather, which was getting colder by the minute. If it were not a clear night, Booth was certain they would have gotten some snow.

He reluctantly let go of her when they got to his door and once it was open, she went in ahead of him and immediately headed into the 'bedroom' part of his studio apartment and closed the curtain. Not hungry but not knowing what else to do, he started dinner for the two of them. Nothing special; just Pops' grilled cheese sandwiches but still really good.

About five minutes later, she pulled the curtain back and walked out in one of his old Army sweatshirts that went down to mid thigh and a pair of sweatpants. And he couldn't help but smile when he saw one of his many colorful pairs of socks on her feet. He tried not to watch her as she crossed the room, pretending to be busy with the food. When her hands wrapped around his from behind, he knew the charade was over.

He turned around and wrapped her in a tight hug, wanting to make whatever problems her genius brain was thinking about go away. His embrace seemed to help a little bit as he felt some of the tension drain out of her body. She surprised him as she brought her head up and placed a sweet kiss on his lips.

"I love you," she told him when they broke apart.

"I love you too," he replied. He softly stroked her back with both hands, trying to comfort her every way he knew how. "What's bothering you, babe? Do you want to talk about it?"

Her head dropped against his shoulder and he felt her exhale loudly. "Not really, but I know I should."

He kissed the side of her head. "Why don't you do to the couch, I'll bring over dinner and we can talk," he suggested.

She nodded and kissed him once more before walking over to the couch. He finished as quickly as possible and joined her on the couch. She was wrapped up in the Penn State blanket and when he sat down, he lifted up one side of the blanket and slide in under it to be close to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I get to stay here for the next semester," she blurted out. Booth sat forward and looked at her with a smile so bright it could outshine the sun.

"Bones, that's great! I mean, isn't it great?" He suddenly felt unsure of himself. If this was the news, why was she so upset? Did she not want to be here with him?

Her soft smile dispelled all of his negative thoughts. She out her hand on his cheek and her thumb stroked softly over his cheekbone. He turned his head and kissed her palm. She then leaned over and hugged him fiercely.

"That was the best news. I'm not sure I would have been able to compartmentalize the other news I got today if you weren't with me."

He sat back on the couch, bringing her with him so that she was practically draped over him. "Do you want to tell me the other news?" he asked her softly. He was nervous about what could make her so upset.

"Do you remember when the 'Philadelphia Inquirer' ran that story about our lab and the findings we were searching for in the park?" she started. Booth just nodded, knowing she could feel it against the top of her head. "Well, we got a lot of feedback from the anthropological community about it, mostly positive. But yesterday, Dr. Stires got another call."

She paused and Booth just kissed the top of her head, trying to comfort and encourage him at the same time. It was a full minute or two before she finished her statement.

"Someone claiming to be my dad called yesterday. He wants to visit me."

A/N: So, what do you think? ; )


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: So this is not as long as my other updates but with graduation from nursing school four days away, life has been kind of crazy lately. Please review and enjoy!

Chapter 9

"Your dad?" he said, shocked at what she just told him. That was the last thing that he expected her to say. He felt her tense in his arms and she burrowed herself further into his embrace. Assisting her, he pulled her closer so she was sitting in his lap and gently rubbed her back. They sat in silence for a few minutes as he let the news sink in and thought about how to best respond to her statement. Since her mind worked faster than a speeding bullet, he figured that she had already tried to compartmentalize this information and judging by her mood, he could tell that she was distressed by the fact that it was still affecting her.

Deciding to take a chance and see what else was bothering her, he asked, "Bones, I'm really sorry that this is upsetting you. What are you thinking about all of this?" He left the question as opened ended as he could, hoping that she would fill in some of the details.

"Booth," she started so quietly that even in the silent apartment, he had to strain to hear her. "Why didn't my dad say anything about my mom? What if something happened to her?"

Now Booth understood her continued angst. Of course her super computer brain had thought that far ahead and was now concerned about why her father had not included her mother in the conversation. His heart broke for her; sure his childhood had not been all roses, but at least he knew the fate of his parents. It wasn't a happy ending but an ending nonetheless whereas her story with her parents was still being written. And suddenly, all the pieces of the puzzle snapped into place.

"That's why you want to study bones, isn't it? To be able to give families back their loved ones like you want someone to give your family back to you."

She tensed instantly and he knew that he had hit the nail on the head.

"Do you think that's stupid?" she asked in the same soft voice.

He disengaged her and put his hands on her cheeks, leaning in to give her a soft but passionate kiss, trying to convey through his lips all the love he felt for her. As they broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers and gave her a soft smile.

"Bones, you could never do anything stupid. Even on your dumbest day, you are still smarter than 99% of the population, including me." That seemed to do the trick as he saw the first smile from her since their impromptu make-out session at the lab earlier. He would do anything for the rest of his life to see her smile like that.

"Come on, Bones," he said as he stood and grasped her hands, pulling her up with him. "Let's go to bed. Some of us have a constitutional law final in the morning."

He smiled as he saw the 'pinchy face.' "But, Booth, I am not taking any classes… oh, you were talking about you, not 'us' in the literal sense," she finished as clarity dawned on her face.

They got ready for bed, falling into their easy and practiced rhythm of brushing their teeth and washing their faces, effortlessly sharing the small space without getting in each other's way. Once Booth set his alarm for his final the next morning, they climbed into the full bed, Bones sliding over to curl into him with her back to his chest. He happily wrapped his arms around her, effectively spooning them together. There was nowhere in the world that he would be rather than here. As he fell asleep, he once again thanked G-d for bringing her into his life.

"Five more minutes," he heard the professor say the next morning when he was taking his final. Frantically, he scribbled down an answer to the last essay question about Marbury v. Madison establishing the authority of the Supreme Court in this country. He could be quite charming in person and just hoped that some of his natural charm would come out on the paper and convince the professor that he knew what he was talking about. Checking his answers one more time for any grammatical mistakes, he grabbed his winter coat from the back of his seat and handed his blue book to the TA standing at the door of the lecture hall.

Walking out the door, he zipped up his coat, trying to shield himself from the freezing cold December winter. He turned and headed for the lab, knowing that even though he was relieved that he had one final done, he still had three more to go including two tomorrow. There was a lot of studying in his future and knowing that, he left his books and things at the lab this morning when he walked with her before his test. He knew that she would want to work as long as possible today and he seized the opportunity to be near her and get his work done at the same time.

After their emotional night, she had woken up in a good mood this morning, being playful with him as they prepared breakfast and got ready for their day. He knew that this issue with her father was nowhere close to being resolved, but he was determined to stand by her no matter what decision she made about seeing him.

As he was about to enter the doors to the building her lab was in, his sniper senses were on full alert. He turned to his left and saw an older man loitering around the front of the building, a little overweight, with blond-gray hair, and a shade of blue eyes that looked eerily familiar. Debating on whether or not to approach the man, his protective instincts toward Bones convinced him to assess any perceived threat to her and he left the door to talk to him.

"Can I help you, sir?" Booth said as he walked up to him. The man looked startled to see him.

"It's okay, son. I'm just looking for someone," the man told him, his eyes skirting around his imposing figure to try and see the door that Booth had conveniently blocked from his line of vision.

"Oh, really? Maybe I could help you out. I don't work in the lab but my girlfriend works up there so I spend a lot of time there," Booth told him, now convinced that he was speaking to Bones' father, the man that had abandoned her and caused her pain to this day. Needless to say, Booth already did not like this man and wanted to make sure that her father knew that he would always be there with her.

Booth saw that Bones had inherited her intelligence as the man immediately caught on, his interest piqued by Booth's statement. "Your girlfriend?"

"Yes, sir, my girlfriend. She is the most amazing thing in my life. And she is a genius too, the youngest person in her lab and the youngest person to ever be published in the _Journal of Forensic Anthropology_. In fact, she was in the newspaper a while back. I'm really proud of her," he finished as a genuine smile crossed his face at the thought of his Bones. Glancing at the man, Booth was quite sure that he got the message.

"Sounds like you really love this girl," he said and Booth knew that this man was sizing him up.

"Yes, sir, I do. She is the most important thing in my life. I would do anything for her."

The man paused for a minute and then nodded slightly at him and Booth had the odd feeling that he had just passed inspection. And strangely, that made him feel better even though he kept telling himself that he shouldn't want or need to have this man's approval. The man took out a pen and an envelope that Booth could tell had a slight bulge in it from an object and wrote something down on the back on the envelope.

He held out the envelope to Booth and he took it, seeing Bones' name scrawled across the front. Looking up at the man with the question plain on his face, he just smiled and said, "I'm glad she has found someone like you. You protect her, son."

With that, the man walked away and Booth was left standing in front of the building, the envelope clutched in his hand, and wondering how and when the older man had gotten the upper hand of that conversation.

A/N 2: I am curious what you guys think about the beginning of Booth and Max's relationship. I would love to hear your thoughts!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: So there are many good reasons for me not updating in over a month (graduation, getting a job, studying and passing the NCLEX, one of my best friend's weddings, moving to a new apartment) but I am so sorry for not getting this up sooner. I hope people are still interested in this story and I guarantee that now that I have my life in order, updates will be much more regular once again. Thanks to everyone for their support so far and patience with this story. Let me know what you think and please leave a review! Let me know if you are still interested!

Chapter 10

Booth didn't know how long he stood in front of the building with the letter clutched in his hand, staring after the man who he was now completely convinced was his girlfriend's long-lost father. Looking down at the envelope, he saw Bones' name scrawled across the front and on the back of the envelope across one of the narrow edges was a local phone number. Despite the freezing temperatures outside, he couldn't move quite yet. He knew how much this whole situation with her father had really upset her and the last thing he wanted to do was cause her more pain but she needed to know about this.

A blast of warm air hit his face as he walked into the building, wriggling his fingers to try and get circulation going to the frozen digits once again. As he did this, the envelope crinkled and he could feel whatever object was inside slide from one end to the other. He was very curious as to what it was but he would do his best to give Bones her privacy if she needed it. And while that was pretty hard to do in the small studio apartment that they shared, he would make it work somehow even if it meant spending most of the night at the library. He had a lot of studying to do for his last three finals anyway with two hellish ones back-to-back tomorrow morning.

Things had gotten so crazy since his grandparents came for Thanksgiving that he was still trying to find a way to tell her that he planned a great trip to New York City for the holidays for just the two of them, thanks to Pops letting him borrow his car for a week. He knew that they both needed a break and let loose for a little bit in the city. When he originally planned the trip, he thought it would be their last time together for a couple of months because she was supposed to go back to Chicago at the end of this semester but her genius came through once again in the form of a rare find and thankfully, she would be staying with him for the rest of the year. He wasn't sure what he would do without her at this point and even though he knew it would be something they would have to address eventually, he was glad it was put off for several of months.

Finally making it up the stairs to her fourth floor lab, he walked in and saw that the lab was bustling with activity. Over the course of his relationship with Bones, her colleagues at the lab had grown accustomed to his presence and he saw that his table in the back of the lab had remained untouched during the couple of hours he took his final. As per usual, Bones was so absorbed in he work that she was oblivious to everything else in the lab but glanced up quickly when she heard his footfalls on the tile of the lab. His mouth quirked into a small smile at her action, knowing he was the same way with her; he knew the exact moment whenever she entered a room.

So knowing her routine, he wasn't at all offended when she didn't acknowledge him as he moved back to his table. He knew that this was the stabling feature of her life along with her relationship with him and he knew that what he had in his possession could potentially throw her off so he let her have her time with her bones.

About an hour into studying Dr. Elizabeth Loftus' theories on the reliability of eyewitness testimony, he felt her sit down next to him n the lab bench next to the table, wrap her arm around his shoulders, and lean her head against his shoulder. He turned his head to place a kiss on her temple before leaning his head against his slightly and turning back to his studying. He knew her moods and realized she just wanted a quick break from her work, letting her initiate any conversation.

"How was your first final?" she finally asked him.

He shrugged slightly, feeling her head rise and fall with his shoulder. "It was okay. I'm pretty sure I answered the second question wrong but I'm hoping I can get some partial credit on it," he said with a pause, closing his book with his notes inside to mark his place, giving her his full attention. "How about you? How has your day been so far?"

"It's been good," she answered not moving her head from his shoulder. "I feel like I am finally starting to make some progress on bone deformation I located on his right medial ulna, most likely due to…"

Booth zoned out while she was talking, not understanding a word of her 'squint speak,' but loving the passion in her voice when she talked about her bones. This was one of the times that he loved her the most; when she was so completely engrossed in her life's work, he saw her passion for life shine through her crystal clear blue eyes. He loved her during this moment because the only other time he saw her like this was when they were alone and talking or sitting together or whatever. It reaffirmed in his eyes her love for him.

"Booth?" she said as she smacked him in the arm, interrupting his thoughts. "You stopped listening to me!" she accused him. Booth just gave her his charm smile, knowing he was busted.

"You're right, as always," he answered, remembering the envelope he stuck in his backpack when he came in this morning.

"Bones, I got something for you," he said, reaching into his backpack, pulling out the letter that he knew she needed to read but would also break her heart.

* * *

She felt her heart stop as she noticed the familiar handwriting on the outside of the envelope that bore her name, handwriting that she hadn't seen in 5 years. She had four pictures of her family before her parents left that survived her time in the foster care system and on the back of these pictures were the dates they were taken in that exact same writing.

Her eyes snapped up to Booth. "Where did you get this?" she asked him, trying to contain her emotions and rationalize her feelings.

"A man gave it to me this morning before I came in the lab," he told her.

She wanted to be angry with him for not giving this to her right away but she knew he did it so she could work this morning without this emotional trauma. She took the letter out of his hand and for the first time noticed the slight bulge in the envelope, tracing her finger over it lightly, instantly curious and examining the imperfection in the paper as she would an imperfection in a bone. Even though she desperately wanted to open the envelope and find out the contents, this was not the place to do so.

Placing the letter back in Booth's backpack, she surprised him by giving a small kiss, something she normally refrained from at the lab. Pulling back, she saw in his eyes the worry for her and she was so grateful for that; to know that someone in the world was constantly thinking about her and was worried about her well being.

"I'm going to get back to work," she said, quickly following up before he could interrupt her. "I want to read this but I want to do it tonight, curled up with you on the couch in our place with the heat on and in our pajamas, okay? Now, I would like to get some work done and you need to study."

While she spoke, her eyes never left his, conveying to him that she was okay for now. With his love and support, she could face the contents of the envelope, which she was certain she could not have done seven months ago. He nodded and as if reassuring her that he supported her decision, he re-opened his book and organized his notes so that they were once again best laid out for his studying.

Grateful for his silent support, she got up and went back to her project, secure in the knowledge that whatever was in that letter was nothing she couldn't handle with her kind, caring boyfriend by her side.

A/N 2: So I know this is shorter than my other updates but I wanted to get everyone caught up on where Booth and Brennan were in this story. The next chapter will progress the story forward, with more fluff as usual, and will be posted by the end of this week. : )


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you everyone for the amazing response to the last chapter! I was so happy to see that people were still interested in this story because there is still a lot left for these two. This chapter deals with how I think Brennan would have dealt with all the emotions regarding her parents if she had a strong relationship with Booth, which wasn't quite there yet in season 1. I struggled a lot with the letter so I hope it meets your expectations and still is within Max's character. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chapter 11

It was 11 pm and she could feel the stillness of the lab wash over her. The lab was silent; everyone else had gone home several hours ago and now it was just she and Booth in the sterile environment.

Tempe knew she was delaying the inevitable by staying at the lab this late but this is where she felt like her world was in correct alignment. There were 206 bones on the table before her and every complete skeleton would have that many bones no matter what was going on her in personal life. She could name all of them and they would always go in the same order; the humerus was always going to connect to the clavicle at the distal end and the radius and ulna on the proximal end. She couldn't help wanting to experience that peace a little longer before going home and reading the letter that would knock her world off of it's axis. And she also knew that Booth would sit and wait as patiently as he could until she was ready to leave and not a second before. This was just one of the many reasons why she loved him.

Knowing she really was not getting any work done and that Booth had two finals tomorrow and needed his sleep, she sighed and snapped off her gloves. She looked at the love of her life, noting that his head was resting on his folded arms, his books and notes pushed to the side of the table. As she walked closer, she heard him emit a soft snore and she couldn't help but smile at the picture in front of her. The white table stood in sharp contrast to the dark blue long sleeved shirt he was wearing and his short spiky hair was all over the place, probably from running his hands through it all day, something he frequently did while he was studying. He was convinced that it made the information stick in his head even though she was constantly telling him that there was no scientific basis for his belief. Not that it helped though.

She walked up to the table and softly stroked the back of his neck, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to his temple as she did so. His sleep clouded brown eyes opened slowly and she could see him trying to figure out exactly where he was. But no matter where he was, whenever he woke up and he saw her looking back at him, he always gave her the same soft smile that made her feel absolutely happy.

Before Booth came into her life, she remembered thinking that nothing could be absolute. It was a mathematical impossibility as far as she was concerned. But when she was with him, she knew that there was nothing that could make her feel more complete. And the absolute best part was that she knew he felt the exact same way.

"Hey, babe," he said in a gravelly, sleep laden voice. "You ready to go?"

She eyed the white of the envelope that was sticking out of his camouflage backpack, one of the only things he kept from his days in the Army, and she suddenly wanted to run back to the forensic platform and back to her ordered world of bones. But she again locked her gaze with Booth's soft and reassuring brown eyes and knew she needed to go home and read the letter, for both of them.

"Yeah I'm ready. Let's go home."

She couldn't remember what route they took going home or even what the weather was like outside. Before she knew it, she was sitting on their bed with her back against the wall at the head of the bed, dressed in her pajamas and wrapped up in the flannel sheets. The letter was sitting in her lap and even though she knew that the letter weighed only a couple of ounces, she felt like a ton of bricks were sitting in her lap. Booth interrupted her thoughts when he walked out of the bathroom.

"Scoot up," he gently ordered her. She did as he asked and he sat behind her with a long leg on each side of her body, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back into the cradle of his body so that her back rest against his chest.

"You ready for this?" he murmured in her ear and she felt him start to lightly stroke her abdomen.

"No," she answered truthfully, settling further into his embrace. "But this is something I know I have to do."

Taking a deep breath, she carefully and meticulously opened the envelope reaching inside for the letter. She did not want to rip the phone number that was written on the edge of the envelope, just in case. As she did, a flash of silver fall onto her lap from inside the envelope and she held it up for closer examination.

"It's a ring," Booth said from behind her, stating the obvious. It was beautiful, she thought. The silver was woven into a simple pattern that managed to look intricate at the same time. From the slight wear on the silver, Tempe could tell that this ring had been worn on the finger of many people before it came to be in her possession. Putting it back in the envelope so she wouldn't lose it, she opened the folded piece of paper to see two short paragraphs in her father's distinctive handwriting.

_Dear Tempe,_

_While I don't expect your forgiveness for what happened five years ago, I needed to let you know that I still love you and your mother and I did what we did for you and your brother's safety. But now I feel it is safe to reach out to you and if you can find it within yourself, I would like to meet in person. From what I have read about your accomplishments so far, I am so proud of you. I knew you were smart and am happy you have found something you love._

_As a gesture of good faith, I have included in this letter an heirloom of your mother's family. I know we told you and Russ that you didn't have any extended family; this ring has been passed down to the oldest sister of each generation for six generations. Your mom wanted to give it to you on your 16__th__ birthday but circumstances prevented that from happening. I would love to be able to tell you more stories about your family in person but know even if you don't want to talk to me, if you take this ring with you to Michigan and your mother's family, you will be welcomed with open arms._

_I love you, baby girl. Never forget that._

_Dad_

Tempe read the letter three times before feeling like she understood what the simple text said but was frustrated when it left her with more questions than answers. She could feel her anxiety rising and the need to run far, far away from her began to overtake her. But as she felt the walls going back up around her fragile heart, the soft stroking of Booth's hands on her stomach grounded her and all the sudden, all she wanted was him.

She turned in his arms and sat so she was straddling his thighs, rising up on her knees as she pushed her hands into his hair to tilt his head back so she could plunge her tongue into his mouth as she put all of the fervor that the letter had stirred in her. She swallowed his grunt of surprise as she continued to kiss him, moving her hands down until they slipped underneath his sweatshirt and touched the bare skin of his abdomen. She wasn't sure where she was planning to take this but she knew that when she was so caught up in him, thoughts of her broken family were far from her mind; exactly where she wanted them.

* * *

The second he felt her hands touch his bare skin, any thoughts about stopping this flew right out of his brain. He was completely lost in sensation, from her tongue moving sensuously in his mouth to the light scrapping of her fingernails against the tightening muscles of his abdomen.

Logically, he knew they should stop. Sure, they had some pretty intense make out sessions before; after all, they did share a bed every night. but they had not taken that last step yet and Booth did not want it to be when she was upset over her family. He let her use him as a distraction for another couple of minutes but withdrew his lips from her own when he felt her reach for the waistband on his sweat pants.

"Bones," he said gently grasping her wrists and pulling away from her slightly. "As much as I want this to happen, now is not the time. We both know that."

The look on her face quickly went from disappointed to embarrassed as her face flushed bright red and she didn't want to meet his eyes. "No, Bones. Don't be embarrassed, all right?" he said as he peppered her face with light kisses.

"I'm sorry, Booth. I don't know what got into me," she said through the hands that she had brought up to cover her face. He again grasped her wrists to bring her hands away from her face and then lightly took her chin in one of his hands to bring their eyes together again.

"Bones, like I said, it wasn't that I wasn't enjoying myself. I was. Too much so, in fact. I just… I want so much more for our first time together. And I think you want that too. That's why I stopped us." Unable to resist the look of her kiss-swollen lips, he put for hands on both sides of her face and gave her one last, long kiss before moving from underneath her and rolling over to the side of the bed closest to the wall, letting her genius brain process everything that just happened. And after all, he had to be up in 6 hours for his victimology final.

Right when he was drifting off into sleep, he felt her move around in their small but comfortable bed, turn out the light, and wrap her arms around his waist from behind her, shaping her body to align with his.

"Do you think he really meant it?" he heard her ask, so softly that he almost missed it.

"Meant what?" he inquired.

There was a discernable pause, as if she was debating on whether or not to continue with the conversation. "That he loves me."

Booth felt his heart break for her at her timid confession. He turned around and gathered her to his chest, taking a moment to consider how he wanted to proceed.

"As you know, I don't have the greatest track record with parents, but I know he loves you, Bones. I hate him for what he did to you; abandoning you like that and I know that you probably hate him a little bit too. That is normal. But when I saw him today, waiting outside that lab, I could tell that he really wanted to see you, even if you were going to tell him to go to hell. That's why I know he loves you. Whatever he may have done to you, he still loves you. You helped me see that about my own father; it's just one of the reasons I love you as well." He finished with a kiss on her forehead.

She didn't say anything and he could practically hear her think about what he said.

"Trust me on this one, Bones. Try and get some sleep."

He settled in with her in his arms, ready to get at least a couple of hours of sleep before his final.

"I love you, too, Booth," he heard her say as he drifted off into sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, it was still as dark as it was when he went to sleep the night before. Groaning, he slapped his alarm off and was surprised to discover he was the only person in the bed when he distinctly remembered there being two people when he went to sleep the night before.

Still half-asleep, he made his way the fifteen or so steps to the kitchen and found the coffee already made and left on the heater. Frowning a bit, he saw the note left on the refrigerator.

_Booth-_

_Good luck on your finals. I got up and went to the gym and to the lab, got a lot on my mind. Dinner tonight? I am going to call my dad and see if he will meet us. See you after your tests. I love you._

_Bones_

Booth smiled at the note, glad that she wasn't running and very proud that she was thinking of calling her dad today. Sipping the last of his coffee, he went to jump in the shower to get ready for the almost certain long day ahead, saying a prayer that he would pass his final on the way.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Tempe Brennan poured herself into her work this morning, trying to catalogue every millimeter of all 203 bones in the skeleton she had discovered. She was still upset about the three missing phalanges that were not at the site but she was trying to look beyond that, examining any anomalies with precise detail.

The lab was just as quiet as she left it last night, as it was still very early in the morning; she decided to come in early when she couldn't go back to sleep. But instead of feeling off and alone like she thought she would after reading the letter her father wrote her, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, even though she knew that was impossible since she had not picked up anything that had any significant weight. Huffing to herself, she picked up the left clavicle, trying to focus on her work again. She really hated psychology.

But she had a feeling that the reason why she felt so centered was the man she left sleeping in bed this morning. She had no idea when she switched from thinking that love was just a series of chemical reactions in the brain due to increased release of specific endorphins to something tangible and real in the form of a six-foot-one, brown hair, brown eyed ex-soldier. Before this, she would be scared if she was this dependent on another person. It still frightened her a little bit but knowing that Booth was just as dependent on her made her feel like the most important person in the world. To know that this strong, kind, and even though he would deny it if she admitted it to anyone else, sensitive man relied on her for the same support and love that she looked to him for was an amazing feeling. It was an awesome power and responsibility and everyday she hoped that she was worthy of it. And everyday, he was proving to her that she was.

Just then she heard the doors open and saw her P.I. (or professional investigator as they were known in academia) Dr. Stires walk in, briefcase in hand and about four layers of clothes on. She didn't blame him; it was mid-December in Pennsylvania and that meant cold and snow.

"Good morning, Dr. Stires," Tempe greeted him as he came in the lab. Although he wasn't her favorite individual, she still had to be cordial to him; after all, he let her stay for another semester and that meant more time with Booth, something she was very grateful for.

He looked startled at her remark; seemingly surprised that someone else was in here this early. "Morning, Tempe," he responded as she watched him disappear into his office.

A few moments later, she heard his footsteps as he walked toward the platform and up the three stairs.

"Tempe, I was looking at the photos last night and something caught my eye," he started as he pulled on a pair of latex gloves. Tempe was immediately wary of his presence; she didn't like anyone touching her bones. "Did you see the slight break down of osseous tissue at the distal end of the ulna, right under the head?"

"Yes, Dr. Stires, I noted it in my initial examination. I believe it is a clue into the nomadic/hunter lifestyle that this particular tribe utilized in their daily living because of its location in relation to the articulation with the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle. But I will need further analysis before coming to any conclusive results."

Dr. Stires looked pleased at her analysis of the structure. "Very good, Tempe. You are progressing well in your education, much faster than anyone I have ever taught. By the end of the academic year, I would not be surprised if you were published," he said, snapping off his gloves after putting the bones back on the table in its correct anatomical position. Although Tempe was pleased with his approval of her work, she found that his approval of her did not mean as much to her now. She got a more intense feeling of approval and respect from one simple look from Booth.

Tempe was more than happy to continue with her work in the quiet lab, but Dr. Stires did not seem to be done talking to her. "So why are you here so early? Did you and Army man get into a fight or something?"

"Excuse me?" she asked him, confused as to this line of questioning. What did this have to do with the ancient Native American man laying on the table? And who was 'Army man?'

"I was just curious if you had a fight with your boyfriend and that was the reason why you were here so early," Dr. Stires clarified.

"Not that it is any of your business but no, Booth and I did not have a fight. I just woke up and could not go back to sleep," she replied, putting as much ice in her voice as possible to let Dr. Stires know that this was not a welcome topic of conversation.

"Okay, okay, just asking. I should have known better anyway; I have never seen two people more in tune with each other than you two," he said, walking off the forensic platform.

Something struck Tempe as he walked away and even though she did not want to speak with him, her natural curiosity took over. "How did you know Booth was in the military?"

Dr. Stires stopped at the bottom of the forensic platform, turning to face his most brilliant student. "Have you noticed his limp?" he asked.

Tempe nodded in the affirmative; she had noticed it the first day she met him when she walked him to his class. It had become more pronounced since it had become so cold outside.

"What do you know about typical methods of torture in the Middle East?" was Dr. Stires' next question.

She had no idea where this line of questioning was going. Truthfully, she knew nothing about that. Her specialty was more in skeletons in the Americas. "I have not yet studied that Dr. Stires," she answered.

He nodded, pausing before making his next statement. "I would ask your boyfriend about it. I have a feeling that he knows a lot about that area of study." With that, he turned around and walked back into his office.

Tempe frowned at his comment but decided to let it go for now. She would ask Booth about it later but first she had work to do and dinner plans to make for tonight.

* * *

By the time Booth was done with his finals, it was early afternoon and he was completely wiped out. All he wanted to do was to go home and sleep for hours and since the last final he had tomorrow was his easiest one, he knew that he didn't have to study very much. Deciding to check in with Bones before he collapsed though, he started walking towards the lab.

He missed not waking up next to her this morning and was looking forward to seeing her as soon as possible. Walking quickly to see her sooner and also to escape the cold weather outside, he reached her lab in record time.

Opening the door to the lab, he looked inside to see his girlfriend in her customary spot on the forensic platform. He was shocked that even after being together for six months, his stomach still did a flip whenever he saw her. Usually when he walked into the lab, she was so involved in her work that she didn't look up. So when she automatically spotted him when he crossed the threshold of the lab and gave him her most dazzling smile, he couldn't help but smile back.

He watched as she quickly took off her gloves, practically running off the platform and into his arms. As she smashed into him and wrapped her arms around his neck, he managed to stay on his feet and wrap his arms around her waist, burying his face in her neck and inhaling deeply. He swore that if a perfume company could bottle her scent, they would have a gold mine on their hands. Of course, he would have to kill anyone who used it.

"Hey, Bones," he said as a greeting. She pulled back and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Come walk with me for a minute," she said as she grabbed his hand and led him out of the lab doors. He followed behind her, letting her pull him around.

"But Bones, its cold outside," he whined as he gave her a little pout.

"Oh, relax. We are just going out into the hallway," she told him, leaning into him to give him a longer, more sensual kiss now that they were beyond the prying eyes of her colleagues in the lab. Booth was getting lost in her kiss as she pulled away and they walked a little further down the hallway.

"How were your finals?" she asked him as she stopped and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning into him and Booth felt her rest her head right over his heart, one of her favorite spots.

"They were fine," he said as he wrapped his arms around her as well, giving her a soft kiss on her crown, so happy to be holding her. "I'm just glad they are over. How has your day been?"

There was a pause before she answered. "It's been fine. I'm sorry I left before you got up this morning but I couldn't go back to sleep and I didn't want to wake you before your finals," she finished. Booth felt her pause again. "I called my dad."

"How did that go?"

"Very well, actually. We talked for about 30 minutes. I invited over to our place for dinner tonight," she said. "I hope that's okay."

Booth stiffened for a moment. "Bones, are you sure it is a good idea to invite him over? I mean, we are living together and we aren't married or even engaged. You don't think he is going to have a problem with that?" he told her, already nervous about dinner that night. Even though her father had not been apart of her life for five years, he wanted this meeting to go as well as possible and did not want their living arrangement to throw off the whole night.

He felt her pull back a little bit to look him in the eyes. Booth knew that look: pure determination. "I love you," she told him and Booth's heart rate increased at the absolute conviction in her voice. "And if he doesn't approve of our lifestyle then that is his problem, not mine. I don't know if it makes me a bad daughter, but you are more important to me than he is. He left me, Booth and even though I believe I am finally at the point where I can talk to him again, that is something I know you would never do to me. You show me everyday that I am one of the most important things in your life and I won't lose that, no matter what my father says."

Feeling like his heart was going to burst with his feelings for her, he leaned down to kiss her. After a moment, he broke the kiss to bring her close to him once again. "I love you, Bones," he whispered to her. Holding her for a moment more, he pulled back and got to business. "I think I am going to go home now and grab a nap. Do you need me to do anything to prepare for tonight?" he asked. Now that he was okay with her father coming over, he knew the apartment needed a little straightening up. Not much, but it wouldn't hurt to vacuum.

As if she read his mind, she said, "Well, if you could vacuum, that would be great. I am going to leave here in about an hour and I'll pick up what we need for dinner. I found this great recipe for macaroni and cheese that I'd like to try. Would you mind helping make a salad when I get home?" she asked and Booth could practically hear and see the wheels going around in her head, organizing and making a list.

"No problem, babe. I'll take a power nap and then do some cleaning. I'll see you soon," he said. He grabbed her hand and walked her back to the door of the lab. Before he let go though, he pulled her to him one more time to give her a quick kiss. "Don't stress about tonight, okay, Bones. It will be great."

He could tell his words had their desired effect as she smiled at him and went back into the lab. Zipping his coat back up, Booth prepared to walk outside in the cold weather but definitely felt a lot warmer than he had when he came into the building.

* * *

Exactly five hours later, Tempe was pulling the mac'n cheese out of the oven. She really hoped it tasted as good as it smelled because it smelled pretty darn good.

"Bones, do you need me to do anything else?" she heard her boyfriend ask. He had been great today, helping out whenever she needed it and his calming presence had kept her sane. She honestly had no idea what she would do if he weren't here today.

She turned to look at him and was at loss for words for a moment, noticing that he had changed. She had never seen him in dress clothes before; heck, she didn't even know that he owned a tie. But there he was in a charcoal grey long-sleeve button down collared shirt with a narrow black tie and black slacks. And even though she couldn't see it, she knew that he would be wearing one of his pairs of ostentatious socks underneath his black dress shoes. He had even put some gel in his hair and spiked it a little bit, something he hadn't done in days because of his finals. For a moment, she couldn't speak, genuinely touched that he was putting in so much effort for tonight.

"Nope. Everything should be fine," she said as she walked toward the back of the apartment, needing to change herself. As she did, she walked up to him and playfully began touching his tie. "You look great, Booth. Very handsome." Before he could respond, she went back and closed the curtain that separated the bedroom from the rest of the apartment.

Just as she was finishing touching up her make-up, she heard a knock on the door.

"Bones, do you want me to get that?" Booth asked her from his spot on the couch where he had been watching the latest hockey game. She came out of the bathroom after one last look in the mirror, taking a deep breath, her modest black dress and dress sandals completing her look. Before she went to the door, she went to the nightstand next to the bed and slipped the ring that had belonged to her mother on her right ring finger, feeling like it belonged there the minute it touched her skin.

"No, it's okay, Booth," she told him as she went to the door. She looked back before opening the door and saw Booth stand up and walk toward her slightly, giving her an encouraging nod and smile. She turned back to the door and opened it up, her heart rate increasing exponentially as she saw what was on the other side.

"Hey, honey."

A/N: So what did you think? A little bit of a cliffhanger on this one but in my mind, Max's meeting with Booth and Brennan deserved an entire chapter on its own. Let me know what you think and please leave a review!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thanks to boothiebabe, Karebear77, quigely, princesskates, and ComicBookStory for reviewing the last chapter! I really appreciate it! Now while I am not one to withhold chapters until receiving a certain number of reviews, I was a little disappointed with the number of reviews for the last chapter. But that being said, here is the dinner with Max. I'm nervous about this one because it was really hard to write and I hope it captured the emotions that I was trying to convey. Let me know what you think about it and please leave a review. Enjoy!

Chapter 13

"Hey, honey."

Tempe gazed upon the man on the other side of the door, immediately noticing surgically induced changes in his facial structures and hair dye the colored the hair that once was the same shade as her own. But the eyes that were staring back at her were the same ones she saw when she woke up in the morning and looked in the mirror: they were the same cerulean blue shade.

"Hi, dad," she replied, too dumbstruck by finally coming face-to-face with her father again after five years apart. After all, this was the man she idolized when she was growing up. They shared a love of science and a natural curiosity that drove her mother crazy with all the blown-up chemistry kits and burn marks on the ceiling of the basement. It was one of the reasons she was so devastated when her parents left. Her dad was the only person that understood her social awkwardness and made her feel special and accepted even when the kids at school told her otherwise.

"Why don't you come in, sir?" she heard Booth say as he came up behind her, apparently deciding that her and her father had been staring at each other across the threshold long enough.

There was an awkward moment as he walked in the apartment when Tempe didn't know if she should hug him or not. What was the proper etiquette of how to greet your father after not seeing him for five years? But she heard Booth's voice in her head telling her to 'trust her gut' and wrapped her arms around him after Booth closed the door to their apartment.

Tempe could tell she had surprised him with her gesture and after a brief moment, she felt his arms wrap around her as well, nearly squeezing the air out of her lungs.

"I missed you so much, baby girl," he said softly, just loud enough for her to catch it.

She didn't reply to his statement, still very confused by the emotions she was feeling at that moment. Like she always did, she tried to rationalize it. On one side, she was so happy to be in her father's arms once again, all the comforting feelings from her early childhood washing over her like soft, smooth waves. But she also felt hurt and betrayed and extremely furious that he had deprived her of this comfort and stability in her life.

Disengaging from the embrace, she moved back to see Booth smiling at her, his hands in his pockets and bouncing on his toes as an expression of his excitement. She couldn't help smiling back at him, thrilled to see how happy he was when she was happy. She moved toward her boyfriend and leaned into his side, his arm naturally coming around her shoulders to accommodate her.

"Dad, I have someone I want you to meet," she said as her father approached the pair. "This is my boyfriend, Seeley Booth," she told him, love and affection slipping easily into her tone.

Booth put his hand out for her father to shake. "It's good to meet you, sir," he said as Max grabbed his hand.

"Call me Max, son. It is good to finally have a name for the man my daughter is obviously crazy about," Max said, eyeing Booth warily. Tempe rolled her eyes at the obvious alpha-male posturing that was happening right before her eyes. Normally, she would find this situation fascinating and take the opportunity to observe the interaction but she was decidedly less amused when the participants were her father and boyfriend.

"Well, Max, I can assure you the feeling is mutual. I don't know what I would do without her," Booth said, getting that smoldering look in his eyes that he sometimes got when he looked at her. It sent a slight shiver down her spine at the intensity and she had to suppress the flip-flops her stomach was currently doing against the laws of biology.

"Bones, why don't you show your father around the apartment and I'll finish getting the table set and dinner on the table," Booth told her. She nodded at him and realized that normally he would have kissed her just then but held off because of their company. But she meant what she said earlier about choosing their relationship over Max and she felt that she needed to prove that was true. She grabbed his tie and gave him a playful, short kiss, giving him just a hint of something more, before pushing him toward the kitchen.

"Well, Dad, this is where I live," she started awkwardly. "This is the living room and our bedroom," she said, purposely ignoring her father's wince at her statement, "is right back here."

"Well that was short," Max said sarcastically. But, in typical Tempe fashion, she didn't pick up on it.

"That's because it is only a studio apartment, Dad," she replied, wondering why he would say something like that when he could obviously see that the apartment was small.

"I know, Tempe," he replied. She couldn't help but notice that he was looking at her with a faraway look in his eyes and it seemed that he was trying to catalogue every one of her features. It made her feel like one of the skeletons she examined.

"Dinner's ready," Booth announced, breaking the silence that had settled over the pair.

She sighed as she and her father made their way over to the table. She wasn't sure what she expected from this meeting but this was definitely not it. In fact, she was ready to give up right now the prospect of ever having a relationship with her father.

* * *

Booth had been in some pretty awkward situations before tonight but this dinner had to top the list. Although Bones' mac'n cheese was the best he ever had, nobody spoke a word over dinner. Max alternated between staring at his daughter and glaring at him and Bones looked like she was dissecting her food for a science project rather than eating it.

He had always been able to read people; Grams always told him that he read expressions the way other people read the newspaper and he knew that these two needed to get their issues out in the open or the relationship he knew Bones wanted would never happen. And that would break his heart because he knew she would be crushed.

Knowing his girlfriend's blunt nature, he knew he couldn't beat around the bush at trying to get them to talk. So, he took a page out of Bones' book and went straight for the jugular.

"So, Max, why did you and your wife leave your children five years ago and what have you been doing since then?" he asked, breaking the silence that had engulfed the apartment for the last 30 minutes.

"Booth!" Bones exclaimed, kicking him under the table as she did so. Booth hid his wince and regretfully admitted that his girlfriend could have been a soccer player. But this needed to be said and he was going to get it out.

"What, Bones? Isn't that what you have been wondering for the past five years? Why the man who was supposed to love and protect you let you go into a system where you were just another problem that had to be dealt with, another ward of the state? Or how about why he hasn't even mentioned why your mom isn't here tonight? I mean, come on, Bones! He and your mother abandoned you! I think-"

He was so focused on staring into Bones' eyes that he didn't see Max get out of his chair and by the time he realized what was happening, Max had landed a solid right hook to his left cheek. It hurt and Booth knew that he would have quite the shiner there tomorrow but if it meant getting them to open up to each other, it was worth it.

"Dad!" Bones shouted as she got up and went to Booth's side, her hand going to his unaffected cheek to turn his head to where she could better examine it.

"It's all right, Bones," he said, waiving off her comfort, getting out of his chair and standing right in front of Max. "It's not the first time I've been hit by a father."

As he said this, he made sure Max knew the meaning, the reference to his own childhood and also made sure Max knew that he was not afraid of him. He turned back to Bones and gave her a soft smile which was somewhat obscured by the welt that was currently forming on his cheek. He leaned down, gently grasped her chin in his fingers and gave her a soft, sweet kiss.

"I have to go cool off," he told her when he broke the kiss, hating seeing the panic in her eyes but knowing that this is what needed to happen in order for them to start talking and building the relationship that he knew they both wanted. Grabbing his coat from the rack at the door, he quickly put it on and walked out of the apartment, not looking back. He just really hoped this worked.

* * *

As soon as Booth closed the door, silence settled in the apartment again as Tempe and Max avoided eye contact, both looking down at the floor and both standing behind their now empty chairs.

"So is that you what think?" Max said, breaking the silence.

Tempe looked up at him, still furious that he had hit her boyfriend. She never remembered him being violent but was now questioning her up bringing, questioning the image that she had of her father.

"What?" she answered, not sure what he was asking.

"You think your mother and I just abandoned you and Russ without any second thought?" Max said softly. Tempe could hear the pain in his voice but hearing him talk about their abandonment brought issues to the surface that she had been bottling for five years and they were exploding to the surface.

"What did you expect me to think, Max?" she said to him, purposely using his first name and watched the ensuing wince it produced. "One morning, I woke up and went to school like normal only when school was over and I went home, expecting mom to be there like she always was, it was just Russ. We had no idea what happened. Every morning, I woke up and went to the school, hoping that you would be there when I got home and we could do our experiments like we used to. And at Christmas when I came downstairs and saw all the presents under the tree, I thought my prayers had been answered, that you and mom had finally come home. But it was just Russ, trying to make Christmas fun for me. And I was so mad that you and mom weren't there that I didn't even talk to Russ and he just left," she continued, forcibly holding back her tears even though she knew Max could hear them in her voice. "It was three weeks later that one of the teachers at school who caught me hanging around the library until it closed every night called Social Services."

She paused then, exhausted, needing a break even though this was not the end of her story. Looking up at her father, she was surprised to see tears streaming down his cheeks. She didn't know what to do next, it was like time had frozen and she had grown roots into the floor where she stood.

"Can we sit down, Tempe?" Max said, gesturing to the couch. Tempe was willing to sit but did not want to follow his instructions so she sat down at her chair at the table. Max smirked for a minute before following suit and sitting down in his once empty chair as well.

"Tempe, you deserve an explanation. Hell, you deserve so much more than that but this is the least I can give you. I am so sorry that your mother and I had to leave you but we didn't have a choice," he said. Tempe noticed that he finally spotted her mother's ring on her finger. A wistful look came to his face and Tempe watched him sigh deeply before continuing. She was torn; she wanted to know so badly why her parents left but she was terrified of what he was going to say. And it hadn't escaped her that not only was her mother not here tonight but that her father had yet to mention her in the present tense. Not a good sign, as far as she was concerned.

"Your mother and I were not what we portrayed to you kids. To you and your brother, I was a science teacher and your mother was a housewife. But that was very far from the truth."

Over the next 45 minutes, Tempe barely moved a muscle, listening to her father spin a tale about bank robbers, pig farmers, and thirteenth and fourteenth century European explorers. She was starting to doubt if she ever really knew her parents. Even though she was only a child at the time, how could she have missed this much? When she and Russ went to sleep at night, her parents were going out and robbing banks as part of a crime gang and needed to leave her and her brother to keep them safe.

After he finished, she didn't know what to say. Even her genius brain was having trouble processing the story she just heard. But she had caught enough to know that one question had not been answered yet.

"Where is mom?" she asked, knowing it was the one part of the story that her dad was avoiding.

Max looked down at the table and Tempe felt a rock form in the pit of her stomach, even though she was unsure how it got there; she had not swallowed anything that resembled a rock. She really wished Booth were here, to hold her and tell her that everything would be okay.

"She loved you so much," Max whispered and Tempe knew that she would never be able to speak to her mother again.

* * *

Booth had been waiting outside the door for about fifteen minutes, using the glass he had swiped from the table before he left to try and listen to what was going on inside the apartment. Ignoring the strange looks he had received from some of his neighbors as they passed him in the hallway, he keep his ear to the glass, ready to go into the room if he needed to. So far though, he hadn't heard anything and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

He had left them together for an hour and a half, wandering around the quiet campus before heading back to his place. And even though it was freezing in the hallway, he didn't want to interrupt them if they were actually talking. But after twenty minutes of kneeling on the cold hard floor, his feet were starting to ache like crazy. So, he grimaced as he got to his feet and pushed open the door to his apartment.

He saw his girlfriend and her father sitting on the couch in the apartment, a photo album spread across the coffee table to front of them. And while he could see the dried tear streaks on her cheeks and the redness of the whites of her eyes that indicated she had been crying, she looked less tense, maybe even a little happy. Max looked the same way. They both looked like they had been through hell but Booth could see a new relationship forming right in front of his eyes. Announcing his presence, he put his coat on the coat rack, purposely closing the door harder than necessary.

"Booth," she said when she saw him, getting up and walking to meet him as he walked toward the couch.

"Hey, babe," he said as he wrapped her in his arms, kissing her forehead as she sighed contently and reached her arms around him. He looked over her head and made eye contact with Max, who had gotten up from the couch and gave Booth a small smile and nod. In that instant, Booth knew that Max understood the real reason why Booth had left a little while ago.

"Tempe, honey, it's getting pretty late. I am going to head out," Max announced, picking the photo album that he brought over up from the coffee table, making Bones leave Booth's embrace and walk over to her father.

"Okay, dad. Thank you for coming over tonight. I hope we can do this again soon," she said. Max gave her a "me, too" in reply and gave her a hug.

After exchanging "I love you" with each other, Max said, "Booth, would you walk me to the door?"

"Sure," he said. "I'll be back in a minute, Bones."

She just nodded with the 'pinchy' look, not quite understanding what was going on but was willing to let them go for now. At the door, Max turned to him and Booth stood his ground but suddenly felt intimidated.

"I hate almost every part of my daughter's last five years. She never should have had to go through what she did and I will regret the choices that led me to leaving my children for the rest of my life. But one part I couldn't hate about these last five years, no matter how much I want to, is the fact that she met you. I can tell that she adores you and that you have been good for her. That doesn't mean if you ever hurt her though that I won't hunt you down. Understood?" Max asked.

"I love her more than anything else in this world, Max. If I ever hurt her, I'll be the first in line to kick my own ass," Booth said with conviction. Max seemed to believe him because he stuck out his hand to shake.

"You take care of her," he said and walked out the door.

Booth closed the door after he left and locked it, feeling completely drained. It seemed like days ago that he had his power nap after his two finals and the realization that it was just this morning exhausted him even more. Walking back to his bed, he saw his Bones lying down on the bed, still in her dress and sandals, curled up around his pillow. He sat down on the edge of the bed, putting one hand on the bed behind her back, effectively trapping her with his body, and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. At his touch, she opened her eyes and gave him a sleepy smile, reaching out to once again grab his tie.

"Hey," she said as she pulled him down with his tie for a soft kiss. He let his lips glide over hers for a moment, enjoying the intimate contact.

"Do you want to change?" he asked when they broke apart. The hand behind her back came up to softly stroke her side and he could tell the action was putting her right back to sleep. Stopping and grabbing her hands, he pulled her into a sitting position.

"Come on, babe. Get ready for bed."

After ten minutes of both of them sleep waking through their nightly rituals, they collapsed onto the bed, automatically finding each other and curling into each other with Bones finding her normal spot against his heart.

"I love you, Seeley Booth," she said before he felt her breathing even out as she fell asleep. He simply pulled her closer before falling asleep himself, glad that this day had brought them even closer together.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Over the next week, Tempe had worked hard on tying up any loose ends on her project that could be put on hold until she got back from her vacation with Booth to New York City. She also needed to wrap things up because their lease on this lab was ending at the end of the year and they were moving to one of the labs in the back of the Matson Museum of Anthropology at the university, where Booth had found a job as a security guard that he would start at the beginning of next year. Now, he would actually have a reason to be hanging around the lab besides just wanting to be close to her, which Tempe was happy about because she could tell that Dr. Stires was becoming wary of his constant presence.

But he presence was something that Tempe found she couldn't be without for long periods of time without feeling anxious. Especially since she had met with her father for the first time in five years, she felt very possessive and clingy with him. She knew that Booth was patiently putting up with her and probably didn't mind her efforts to be near him most of the time, as she knew their dependency on each other went both ways.

She was currently in their apartment, cleaning up some before they left for New York City tomorrow morning. Booth was gone for the day; he got on the bus to Philadelphia two days ago to spend some time with his grandparents and brother, who was on leave from the Naval Academy for the winter holidays, and to also pick up the car Pops was letting them barrow for their trip. Tempe desperately wanted to go with him but had lab meetings all morning and could not miss them, as it was the last set of meeting before people left for the winter holiday.

In reality though, she was just counting down the hour until he would be back. She used to love her alone time, time where she could be alone with her thoughts and really take the time to process her thoughts about her studies. But now, she found she could still do all that but better when Booth was in the room. Never had she felt so comfortable just being with another human being, whether they were talking and doing something together or just sitting quietly in the same room. Even though she missed him right now though, she was very excited about their trip to New York and the quiet evening they were planning on spending together when he got back as well.

Booth surprised her with the idea last week and she felt like it was exactly what they needed. It would be nice to get away for a little bit and spend some time completely devoted to them. With all the emotional stress of the last week, Tempe was looking forward to going somewhere she had never been before and observing the cultural influences that collided within the infamous city. And spending time with her boyfriend wasn't all that bad either.

Since meeting with her father last week, she had spoken with him several times on the phone. Although she was still somewhat wary of his presence in her life, she enjoyed speaking with him and starting to form a relationship with him. And although it would never be the same or as good as the relationship they had before he left with her mother, she liked the possibility of him being a part of her life again.

Looking around the apartment and seeing that it couldn't be any cleaner than she had made it over the last hour, she moved onto packing her things for their week in Ne York, which was pretty much going to consist of putting all of the warmest things she owned into a duffle bag.

After packing, she started on dinner and while she was cutting vegetables for a salad, she heard the front door of the apartment open and her boyfriend announce his presence.

"Bones, I'm home!" he said. She stayed in the kitchen but put the knife down, knowing that she was probably in for an enthusiastic greeting and did not want to injure herself or Booth in the process.

She was right. "Hey, babe," he said as he found her in the kitchen and immediately wrapped her up in his arms, bending down to find her lips in a kiss that was passionate and needy, more like they had not seen each other in months instead of just two days. She lost herself in his kiss, happily giving back as much as she could, using her tongue and lips to give him as much pleasure as he was giving her. It wasn't until she felt his hands go underneath her shirt and start fidgeting with the clasp of her bra that she broke the kiss. While she was anxious to start the more physical side to their relationship, she knew that with water on the boil for their pasta, now was not the time.

"Hey, honey," she responded, still within the circle of his arms, although his hands had moved to grip her hips. She was unsure yet if she liked using terms of endearment, preferring the much more practical 'Booth' but he seemed to like it so she was determined to make more of an effort to include them in her vocabulary. Even now, after using the word, she saw his eyes light up with delight and that was something she wanted to see as much as possible.

"How was the trip?" she asked, moving regretfully out of his arms and went to check on the state of their dinner. While she tested the pasta, she heard him pick up the abandoned knife and begin to cut the vegetables again.

There was a very noticeable pause before he answered. "Seeing Pops and Grams was great. They say 'hi' by the way. But Jared was such an ass the entire time that I had to restrain myself sometimes from punching the guy. Just because he is training to be an officer and I was a Master Sergeant doesn't mean that he is better than me. I served my country with honor and I'm proud of my service. He will never know half the things I have been through but he acts like it." He paused then again, leaving the kitchen to head towards the bedroom, which Tempe assumed was to go change.

When he came back, dressed in sweatpants, an old T-shirt, and of course a pair of his socks, she had the pasta drained and the tomato sauce in the pan, ready to complete their meal. Even though she recognized that making dinner for Booth was very domestic and very against her views on the societal roles imposed on genders, she took comfort in the fact that Booth made dinner for her half the time as well.

"Booth, can you put the salad together and put it on the table, please?" Tempe asked him while adding the drained pasta to the tomato sauce. She noticed though that he hadn't moved since she asked him, still staring at the photos on the wall near the dining table. "Booth?" she asked a little louder.

This seemed to snap him out of his funk. "What? Oh yeah, the salad. No problem, Bones." As he put the cut up vegetables in the bowl, she walked up to him and gently began to rub his back right below his shoulders, using her nails to lightly scratch the area, feeling some of the tension leave his body at her touch.

"Are you sure everything is okay? You seem a little distracted," she told him, trying to peer around his broad shoulders to see his face. She felt him sigh through the hand on his back.

"I'm fine, Bones. It was just a busy couple of days and I still have to pack for our trip tomorrow. And I am also very excited for our trip and am anxious to get on the road," he said as he turned to her and gave her his charm smile before leaning down to peck her lips. "Let's eat, Bones. I'm starving," he said, sounding like his old self.

* * *

After a satisfying dinner, Booth insisted on cleaning up while he sent Bones to go relax on the couch and watch the Discovery channel show on the early Incas that he knew she was looking forward to. He was looking forward to just curling up on the couch with her. Finishing up the last of the dishes, he went into the living room to do exactly what he wanted to do all day; sit with his girlfriend and get ready for their trip tomorrow.

He was strangely nervous about the trip. He knew from his two previous girlfriends that taking trips together was a pretty significant step in the relationship and while he knew he should be nervous about what the trip would do to their relationship, he wasn't at all. He was more worried about the traffic tomorrow and that all the arrangements would be appropriate for them, mostly that his Army buddy, who was known for being a slob, cleaned up his Manhattan apartment. The only thing that really made him anxious for the trip in regards to their relationship was the fact that he thought it might be time to take it to the next step in their physical relationship. While he never wanted to rush her, she had been making not so subtle hints that she wanted that as well. And when he went back to change, he slipped some condoms into his duffel bag, hoping Bones wouldn't find them and think that was the reason for this trip, because it wasn't. First and foremost, it was to have a fun Christmas with the woman he loved. And if they decided together to take that next step, well, he certainly wasn't going to refuse her.

"Hey, Bones, scoot over," he said as he sat down on the couch with her, propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of them. They were really bothering him as of late. It was his first winter since he was captured, tortured, and had his feet broken repeatedly. His physical therapists told him that his feet would ache when the weather got cold but he had no idea it would be this bad. At times, it felt like the bones in his feet had re-broken and it took everything in him to get up in the morning and walk out of his apartment, knowing it would only be worse once he was outside.

Without speaking or taking her eyes of the documentary she was obviously absorbed in, she reached out and picked up his feet from the coffee table and put them in her lap, allowing him the time to adjust his position on the couch so he laid back against the opposite arm rest. He smiled as she started massaging his feet, thinking sometimes it was awesome to have a girlfriend that was amazing at multi-tasking.

When she reached to remove his socks though, he started to panic. Just because he had to look at the silvery scars that covered almost every inch of his feet from the beatings and the corrective surgeries that followed didn't mean that he wanted her to see them. But he promised her in the beginning of their relationship that he would never hide anything from her and he would never break that promise. Besides, he thought, if they were going to become intimate on this trip, she would have to get used to the scars; he had probably a hundred others that covered the rest of his body, some from his childhood, some from the Middle East, and others from just being a kid who liked playing hockey. Thinking back, he was amazed that he had kept them from her for this long considering they had been living together for five months now. He guessed he had the frigid Pennsylvania winter to thank for that. Now, he waited, held his breath, and closed his eyes, ready for her reaction, whatever that may be.

He stayed that way for about a minute before he opened his eyes and saw that she was so absorbed in the documentary that she didn't even look at his feet when she took his socks off, only wanting better access for the massage she was giving him. Exhaling softly, he leaned his head back against the arm rest and the closed his eyes, the stress of the last couple of days and the excitement of going to New York tomorrow with Bones exhausting him.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Booth," she said about fifteen minutes later.

He froze. "What happened to me, Bones?" he asked, not exactly sure what she was referring to but having a good idea.

"I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "But I know that the scars on your feet and the ones I saw on your back were most likely inflicted upon you in a hostile environment. And I am sorry you had to go through that."

Booth was shocked. "Wait a minute, you saw the scars on my back? When?"

"About a month ago when you were in the shower. I had to brush my teeth and was already running late so I went in the bathroom when you were in the shower and saw them. But I have noticed your limp from the day we met."

"Why didn't you say anything?" he wanted to know, half wondering what else she saw of his naked body when she was in there.

"I knew you would talk to me about it when you were ready. You have been so patient with me and my past, I decided to extend you the same courtesy. You don't have to talk about it now; I just wanted to let you know that I was sorry," she finished, going back to watching the documentary that had just gotten back from a commercial break.

"You deserve to know, Bones," he said softly, looking down at his hands rather than her. He heard her mute the television and wait for him to begin. "I can't tell you a lot about what happened because most of it is still classified but I will tell you what I can. I was in my last tour in the Middle East, I can't tell you exactly where, when the mission went wrong. It all happened so fast. Next thing I knew, I woke up in a dirty cell that was just long enough for me to lie down in and if my back was against one wall, I could reach out with my hand and touch the other wall of the cell. My captors had many different methods for torturing me but the one they seemed to use the most was to beat the soles of my feet with anything handy; pipes, chains, rubber hoses, whatever. They would use those and other… items on the rest of my body as well," he paused, still not looking at her. "I was held in captivity for three months, Bones, and then spent another eight months rehabbing at Walter Reed Medical Center. And until you came into my life, every night when I fell asleep, I was back in that cell with my captors, re-living all those days. I am so thankful for that, Bones, you will never know how you saved me," he finished quietly.

The room was silent when he stopped talking but she had not stopped her massage the entire time he was talking. He didn't look at her for fear of seeing pity and disgust in her eyes.

"I love you," she said and he looked at her, so relieved that he only saw her love for him shining through. "And I am very proud of you for telling me what happened."

"I love you," he responded, not knowing what else to say.

Then, as if nothing happened, she un-muted the television and went back to watching her show. He exhaled, feeling much lighter now that she knew and felt oddly energized, thinking ahead again instead of in the past to his upcoming vacation with the love of his life.

A/N: So what did you think? The next chapter will cover their vacation to New York City. Now, that chapter is not written yet and I want to know what you want to see happen during that vacation (besides the obvious). I have been to New York City during the holidays and have some ideas about what will happen but I was born and raised in Southern California and still reside there and am sure I am missing some things that are fun to do on the East Coast during the winter. So, if there is something you want to see happen during their vacation, leave a review and let me know! I can't promise that everyone's ideas will make it into the chapter I can guarantee that you will see at least a couple of them in there. What are you waiting for? Let me know what you think of this last chapter and get your idea in for Booth and Brennan's first get away!


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this out. I moved into my new apartment, started my new job as a nurse, and did not have Internet until a couple of days ago so I couldn't get it up until now. But here it is, their trip to New York City! It's extra long as a sort of apology for not getting it up sooner. And there was one thing everyone wanted to see in this chapter and it is definitely included. Enjoy and let me know what you think. :)

Chapter 15

They arrived in Manhattan last night very late last night after driving four and a half hours west to the big city. Booth wanted to leave earlier in the day but Bones had one last loose end to tie up before leaving and he knew if she didn't get it done, she would be thinking about it the whole trip. That super genius brain of hers just wouldn't be able to let it go and Booth didn't want her mind to be on anything else but them for the next couple of days. But this made the day long and so when they arrived at their destination and did some light cleaning of his buddy's apartment, including Booth quickly hiding a card on the pillow that said 'make sure to wash the sheets' and the box of condoms that came with it, they collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.

But even though Booth was exhausted, his excitement over their trip didn't allow him to sleep long he woke up early the next morning, right before the sunrise. He was surprised by how nice his friend's apartment was; he knew that he had landed a nice job as a security detail at the United Nations after getting out but Booth had no idea it paid this well. While it was a modest one-bedroom apartment, about three of his studio apartment could fit inside. The most astounding thing about the place though was the view. From where he was laying right now, with his beautiful girlfriend spooned in the front of his body, he was watching the sun peek through the skyscrapers of the New York skyline as it rose over the Hudson River from the apartment that was on the 36th floor.

Bones stirred beside him as the sun began to peek through the window and Booth had to stifle his laugh at the scrunching of her nose and tightening of her eyes as the sun began to kiss her face. He accommodated her as she turned in his arms and buried her face in his chest, sighing as he felt her breathing even out again as she fell back asleep. He considered getting up and drawing the curtains but was too comfortable with her snuggled into his body and was enjoying the opportunity to be close to her in this way.

About an hour later though, her proximity was affecting him in a way that he knew she would be able to feel so he decided it was time to get up and get his day started, leaving her to sleep a little longer. But as he settled on the couch and turned on the TV to the local morning news for not even five minutes, Bones stumbled out of the bedroom with the comforter wrapped around her. She plopped down on the couch next to him, putting her head in his lap and falling back asleep within seconds. During that whole exchange, Booth was not even sure she opened her eyes.

"Bones?" he said, wanting to see if she was faking it, although he really doubted it by her breathing. She didn't even stir at his prodding, and even though he couldn't help but smile at her antics, her position did not help the problem he got out of bed to help in the first place. In fact, it was making it much worse. He quickly began reciting the saints in his head before his growing problem embarrassed him any further.

Luckily for him, Bones was completely out of it, happily cuddled up in his lap and fast asleep and after reciting all the saints and the rosters for the Philadelphia Phillies and Flyers, he was comfortable enough to enjoy her presence again. As the weather lady droned on about the relatively mild weather they would be experiencing for the next several days, Booth absent-mindedly stroked his fingers through her hair, thinking this is exactly where he what he wanted for the rest of his life.

When he had gone to his grandparent's house to get the car for their trip, he had gotten something else as well; an old ring that had been passed down to his mother from her side of the family before she died. Grams had gotten it after that and kept it safe for him. He smiled as he remembered when he tried to nonchalantly ask her about the ring's whereabouts.

"_Hey Grams," he said, finally alone with her when Pops and Jared had gone out to pick up some food before the game._

"_Yes, Seeley," she inquired, not looking up from the cross-stitching she was currently working on. _

"_I was just wondering if you knew what happened to my mother's old engagement ring."_

_That got her attention. "I know exactly where the ring is. Why do you ask?"_

_Booth knew she knew the exact reason why he was asking but decided to humor her anyway. But as he spoke the words, he was getting increasingly nervous. This was the first time he spoke about his intentions regarding Bones with anyone else even though he knew from the first time he saw her that he was going to spend the rest of his life with her._

"_I want to ask Bones to marry me," he said with absolute conviction, looking his Grams straight in the eye._

_A soft smile graced her face at his words and Booth imagined she was thinking about when Pops proposed to her all those years ago. _

"_I was wondering when you would ask me for the ring regarding her. I could see it as plain as day that you were head over heels in love with that girl when we visited you both a couple of weeks ago," she said. Booth blushed slightly at her statement but knew when it came to his Bones; he was pretty easy to read. "I'll give it to you on one condition; you have to wait at least another six months before you ask her."_

"_But Grams," he protested immediately. "I love her; I'm in love with her. I know she is the one for me, that we are going to be together for 30 or 40 or 50 years from now."_

_Grams got up from her position at the table and walked toward her grandson. "I know that, Seeley. And I know that somewhere in her heart, she knows that too. But she is scared right now. Let her become more accustomed to the seriousness your relationship, to see first hand that you are really in it for the long haul. Everyone she loved in her life has left her Seeley; prove to her that you are different, let her see that evidence of that first and then once you see that she knows, then you can ask her. Promise me that, okay, sweetheart?"_

_Booth just nodded dumbly, letting what she just said sink in._

He thought about what she said for the entire drive back to his apartment from Philly, feeling in the ring he had in his pocket seemingly make an imprint in his skin. And he knew his Grams was completely right, as always, in her assessment of the situation. Booth realized if he was more removed from the relationship, the people skills he inherited from her would have told him the same thing.

As if reading his thoughts, Brennan stirred in his arms and looking at the clock, Booth realized that it was already 8 a.m., that three hours had past while he sat on the couch with his girlfriend. He leaned down and started peppering kisses all over her face, ready for her to get up so they could start their day.

"Booth," she whined sleepily, swatting at him with her hands that were still covered by the comforter.

"Good morning, babe," he told her, not letting up on his assault of her face until he captured her lips in a deep, passionate kiss that definitely woke her up completely.

"How did we end up on the couch?" she asked as she sat up and rubbed her hands over her face after breaking the kiss. Booth thought she looked adorable sitting there with the comforter still wrapped all around her and her hair sticking up in every direction. Before going to the kitchen to see what they could rustle up for breakfast, he leaned down, framed her face with his hands, and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Well, I came out to the couch this morning and you sort of followed me out here," he told her, laughing at the confused look on her face that indicated to him that she had absolutely no recollection of her morning excursion from the bed to the couch.

"Why did you come out to the couch? Was the bed not comfortable?" she asked, while Booth turned red at remembering why exactly he came out to the couch this morning.

"No, the bed was fine Bones, I just…" he trailed off, hoping her inquisitive mind would just drop this entire line of questioning but realistically knew she wouldn't. There was a moment of silence and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, you came out here because you had a morning erection, didn't you?"

"Bones!" he exclaimed, convinced his face might burst into flames at any moment he was so embarrassed.

"What, Booth? It is perfectly normal for a man of your age and physicality to wake up with an erection. And it's not like this is the first time its happened either," she replied as if talking about the weather as opposed to his morning, um, problem.

"Wait a second, not the first time?" Booth questioned, curious even though he wanted to drop this conversation as fast as possible.

"Booth, we have been sharing a bed for nearly two months. There have been mornings when I have woken before you and felt-"

"Okay, that is enough of that," Booth said, interrupting her.

Now focusing on finding what he needed to make his famous omelets, he went back to the couch, where Bones was still sitting, gradually waking up. He sat down on the coffee table that was in front of the couch, looking into her eyes and taking her hands, telling her with his actions that he really hasn't mad about her usually bluntness. Smiling when he felt her hands grip his own and her thumb caressing his skin, he was grateful that she seemed to receive the message loud and clear.

"Why don't you go grab a shower while I make breakfast and then we can go out for the day?" he told her, already getting exciting for the plans he had for the day.

He was shocked though when she perched herself on the edge of the couch right in between his legs and reached out slipped her hand underneath his shirt to trace her fingers over his abdomen. "Why don't you join me?"

Her touch combined with her words made him shiver and want to forget all of their plans for the day but he kept remembering the promise that he made to her that their first time would be special and up against the wall of a shower was definitely not what he had in mind, no matter how hard she was making it for him, literally and figuratively. While trying to figure out how to answer her, she smiled and leaned forward to peck him on the lips.

"Relax, Booth, I'm only kidding. I'm going to go shower and I expect an awesome omelet waiting for me when I get out." With that, she got up, leaving the comforter on the couch, and smiling at him over her shoulder before closing the bedroom door.

Booth sat on the table, dumbstruck for a moment, before smiling himself and getting up to make her the omelet she ordered, chuckling under his breath at the wicked sense of humor she had developed in their time together.

* * *

Tempe couldn't stop smiling. She and Booth had the most amazing day together so far, starting out with a visit to the American Museum of Natural History. Booth was definitely humoring her by visiting the museum as he looked bored for most of it but she was absolutely fascinated. The visit reminded her why she got into anthropology in the first place and looking through all the exhibits that documented early man's journey through time piqued her interest even further. She couldn't stop asking questions aloud to Booth that she wanted to research when they got back to the university and as she could have spent hours in the Spitzer Hall of Human Origins but Booth pulled her out after when he saw she was not going to leave by herself. The part that she and Booth enjoyed equally was the Rose Center, in which they were able to take a virtual trip to the moon in the planetarium.

By the time they left the massive museum, it was already 3 pm and Tempe was shocked to discover they had been in there for a little under six hours. As they exited, they bundled up against the cold weather and began walking toward Times Square along Central Park as they linked their hands together. She couldn't help but snuggle closer into Booth, wrapping her free hand around his arm at his elbow, a sense of perfect happiness washing over her. Impulsively, she stopped them and reached up to kiss him, deepening the kiss to a level that she would consider slightly inappropriate for being in public.

"What was that for?" he asked when she broke the kiss.

"Just a thank you, for loving me, for being with me, for everything," she said, keeping her arms wrapped around his waist, feeling the heat from his body even though all the layers of clothing he was wearing. She could feel her love for him in every pore of her body and even though she was sure they looked like a couple from a cheesy romantic movie, she didn't care. She could stay like this forever.

"So not much then," he joked back, breaking their embrace and taking her hand again, continuing their walk along the border of Central Park.

"What are we doing next?" she asked excitedly as they got back into the bustling streets of the city.

"You'll see, but it is something I have wanted to do for a long time," he replied, smiling at her. The excited look in his eyes made him look like a little boy again. She couldn't help but smiling back at him at his look.

They walked through the city together silently, Tempe absorbing all the different cultural and societal factors warring together in this melting pot of all types of people. Looking up, she saw an awning ahead that had 'NBC' written on it in lights. And getting closer, she saw a lot of flags around and a Christmas tree that had to be at least eighty feet tall. Below the tree, there was a huge skating rink with lots of people skating around and as they got closer, she could hear the squeals of laughter from several of the people racing around the rink. She smiled as she saw the people having a good time.

"Here we are: Rockefeller Plaza," he told her. Booth stopped her above the rink and for a few minutes, they watched everyone down below as he slung an arm around her shoulder and she reciprocated by wrapping hers around his waist.

"You ready to join them?" she heard him say.

Surprised, her head snapped up to look into his eyes. "Really?" she asked, knowing the answer was 'yes' as he pulled her toward the line of people waiting to skate on the infamous rink.

"What's the matter, Bones? Haven't you ever been ice-skating?" he asked as they stood in line together. The answer was no, she had never been ice-skating but she wasn't going to let him know that. She knew he would be very good; he had told her about how he had excelled at ice hockey as a kid and into high school. But his teasing made her competitive nature come out.

"I have a lot of natural athletic ability," she answered, trying to appear and sound confident. After spending six hours in the museum this morning, she was going to try her best to make this fun for him.

As they got closer to the front of the line, Tempe's anxiety increased. Before she knew it, she was getting fitted for the ice skates and she took a hold of Booth's hand as he led them out on the rink.

Once they were out there, she became wrapped p in the ambiance of the whole thing. People were smiling and laughing, some racing around the rink and others holding onto the side rails for dear life. But everyone was in great spirits, including her boyfriend, who was impatiently tugging on her hand.

"I'm not positive this is a good idea," she said hesitantly.

"Come on Bones. Let's go!"

The tugging on her hand caught her off guard and she began to lose the balance that she barely had to begin with. "You're gonna make me fall," she said with nervous laughter, quickly looking around for a rail she could grab onto. That stopped Booth for a moment as he came up next to her and offered her his arm, wrapping her hand in his own. She wound her arms around the one he offered her and let him guide her around the ice.

"I'm never gonna make you fall. I'm always here," he replied with a comforting smile.

They continued like this around the rink for a couple of laps before Tempe finally felt comfortable enough to let go of Booth's arm and try and couple of steps on her own, only to promptly fall right on her behind.

"Oh, I got you! I got you. Stay up here," he said as she felt this arms come underneath her own to pick her up off the ice. As he pulled her up, he took her hand again and once she found her balance, she found she could skate next to him without falling but decided going on her own again was probably not the best idea.

On their fourth lap, he pulled her toward the middle of the ice and let go of her hand, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, both of them looking up to see the people around the rink above and the enormous tree that was looming over them, watching the sun set through the skyscrapers that littered the skyline.

"Are you having fun?" she asked him, concerned that her inexperience was slowing him down.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I'm having a great time, Bones. I'm ice staking in Rockefeller Center in New York City with the woman I love. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun."

She turned in his arms, slowly so she wouldn't fall, and gave him a gentle kiss. "Come on, what are we standing here for? Let's keep going!" she exclaimed; now tugging on his hand to lead him around the rink. He let out a surprised laugh and let her lead him around for another lap.

As the sunset and the lights came on overhead, they exited the rink, their cheeks rosy red from the effort and the cold wind around them, as it got dark. After eating a fun dinner at Carnegie's deli, Booth led her back to Times Square. Tempe was tired from their long day but the excitement in Times Square got her adrenaline going again and after Booth got both of them a hot chocolate from a street vendor, she felt ready for anything.

"What are we doing here, Booth?" she asked.

"I've got one more thing planned for tonight, babe. You doing okay?" he asked, stopping them in front of a bus stop and wrapping an arm around her shoulder in an attempt to warm her up. The temperature had dropped significantly when the sunset but Booth was like her automatic heater.

"I'm doing great, honey. Thanks," she said, snuggling closer into him, remembering to include the terms of endearment in their conversations.

At that moment, a red double-decker tourist bus came up to the bus stop and Booth guided her up to the second floor. They took a seat, Tempe almost sitting in his lap between him and the railing as other people, similarly bundled up, joined them. The tour guide came up to the top and announced that they were taking a tour of the lights of New York City.

For the next hour and a half, the couple sat huddled together on the top floor of the bus, ooing and awing at the bright lights of the city. While others went downstairs to avoid the cold, Tempe insisted they stay on top, enthralled by the lights and the sights.

When they got off the bus after circling around the city to arrive back where they started in Times Square, it was getting close to 10:30 pm and after their long day out and about, they were both exhausted and decided to head back to where they were staying. The apartment was just outside Columbus Circle so it only took them about thirty minutes to walk back.

Upon entering the apartment, Booth went to turn up the heat as they shed all layers of clothing and changing into their pajamas. She curled up next to Booth on the couch as he watched Sportscenter, but he turned it down when she sat down.

"Did you have fun today?" he asked, turning slightly to accommodate her.

"I had the best time today," she told him sincerely as she repositioned herself. She sat up and went to sit on his lap with her knees framing his hips. Framing his face with her hands, she kissed him passionately on the lips, settling herself onto his lap as she felt his hands come up to hold her hips, with his thumbs stroking her hip bones through the soft cotton of her pajama pants.

As the kiss continued, things between them quickly escalated, as Tempe broke the kiss momentarily to pull his shirt off his head, running her hands over his chest as she swallowed his moan with her mouth when she began kissing him again. Sitting in his lap, she could feel that he was enjoying this as much as she was, the evidence pressing into her thigh. When she stopped to allow him to pull her shirt of her head, he stopped for a moment.

"Bones, are you sure about this? Because if you aren't we need to stop right here," he told her breathlessly, resting his forehead against his own.

Tempe thought for a moment. She was about to take a step with someone, a man, that she had never taken before and truth be told, she was nervous. Being a scientist, she had of course read about sexual intercourse and knew the mechanics of the act. But what was surprising her right now was the depth of emotional she felt as she was sitting here with Booth, contemplating making this move. A move that she knew she was ready to make with a man that she completely trusted with her body and her heart.

"I'm ready for this Booth," she said kissing him quickly. "I'm in love with you and I am ready to make love with you."

Her words seemed to assure Booth that she really wanted this as well and he lifted them up from the couch with Tempe quickly wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck to hold on. And as he laid her down on the bed as if she was his most valued possession, she looked into his eyes that seemed to turn black with passion and surrendered herself to the love she felt pouring out of him, wrapping them in a cocoon where the rest of the world ceased to exist.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

May 1997

The restlessness could be felt on the Penn State campus as finals week started and the countdown to graduation and summer began. But Tempe was restless for an entirely different reason. Unlike her boyfriend of nine months who was currently one of the students stressed out about finals, which were ending today, she did not have any for this semester, getting all of her units for being apart of a highly selective research team from Northwestern University.

But also unlike the rest of the student population at Penn State, neither her nor Booth was looking forward to the end of the school year. Because the end of the school year meant that she had to go back to Northwestern to begin the summer session. And Booth had to stay in Pennsylvania to do the same.

They had explored every option possible to see if there was some way they could stay together, if only for a couple more weeks but nothing had panned out. Luckily, Booth's last final was early in the week so they were taking a trip back to Chicago together before he had to be back for the start of summer school. He got a week off his work as a security guard for the museum where her lab was currently housed in and insisted that he wanted to see the place she would be while they were apart. Tempe thought part of the reason he was going was to scare any males in her dorm away from even looking at her. She rolled her eyes just thinking about it but was going to let him do his alpha-male posturing only because she knew anthropologically that he couldn't help it and it would probably make him feel better.

The only thing that Booth liked about this whole moving situation was that Max was going to be moving out there with her. He said that he didn't have any ties in Pennsylvania anyway and was looking for a change in scenery. Tempe was happy about this situation as well since her and her father had developed a closer relationship over the past six months. She also didn't know if she could survive being away from both of them, not when she had become so close to them in her time here.

She wasn't sure when she had become so dependent on him but she knew now that it wasn't a bad thing even though she felt like half of her soul and the most important person in her life was going to be 600 miles away from her for at least a year, until they finished school. But even with the forced separation, they both knew that they needed to complete their education so they could support the future they planned together. A future that they had talked about, in more quantity recently, and were excited about, even if the immediate future did not look very good.

Ever since their trip to New York City over the winter holidays, they had been absolutely inseparable, not just in their physical presence with each other but in mind, body, and soul. Although increasing the physical intimacy had been very satisfying, she thought smiling; the emotional intimacy that accompanied that step surprised her. Now, it seemed with one look, they could tell what the other person was thinking and feeling.

"Hey, Bones!" she heard yelled across the lab as Booth walked through the doors. Speak of the devil, she thought, smirking to herself. "Guess who's done with finals?"

"Mr. Booth," she heard as well, but this time, it made her wince. Pulling her gloves off, she went down the steps of the forensic platform so she could try and defend her boyfriend's behavior to Dr. Stires.

"This is a lab, Mr. Booth, a professional environment where people are hard at work and need to focus on their work. You can't come in here and-"

"Look, Doc, I'm sorry but you are out of here in a week anyway. I mean, all you guys are doing is packing right now," Booth countered after interrupting him.

"It's not like we are packing up bed frames or chairs here, we are packing up human remains which does require concentration and most importantly, quiet," Dr. Stires told him, getting up in Booth's face. Tempe knew she needed to get to them before someone took a swing. She had told Booth about Stires trying to come on to her when they began working together back in Chicago and it was no surprise that Booth now had a deep hatred for the man.

"Booth," she said as she stepped between the two men and wrapped her arms around Booth's waist. "What do you say you and me go back to our place and finish packing for tomorrow, huh? I just finished here today anyway. Come on, let's go celebrate you being done for the year and our trip," she said, stroking her hands over his back to try and calm him down. The technique proved to be effective, as she felt some of the tension leave his body, some of the tension she knew was there because of the upcoming move and change in their situation.

"I apologize, Dr. Stires," she said as she turned to face him and felt Booth put a hand on her lower back, right on the spot she knew was made for his hand. "I finished packing up the remains of my skeleton and it is ready for transport back to Chicago. Now, since there is nothing else you need from me, Booth and I are going to leave and I will see you back at Northwestern in a week, okay?" Tempe told him, hoping he would accept her compromise so she and Booth could leave.

"All right, fine," he relented after a moment of consideration, probably figuring they could get the rest of the work done faster if she and Booth left. "Tempe, we have our first lab meeting for the summer next Wednesday. We will see you then," he told her, not even looking at Booth as he turned around to walk back in his office.

"Good riddance," Booth muttered under his breath, quickly shutting up when Tempe turned around and pierced him with a glare.

"Come on, Booth, let's get out of here," she said, shooting him a sultry smile as she linked her fingers with his and led her very willing boyfriend out of the lab.

A couple of hours later, she had gotten absolutely no packing done but as she laid on the bed with Booth, exhausted but very happy, she could care less about getting her things together. She was curled up, sprawled over his chest as he was lying on his back. As far as she was concerned, Booth was the only thing she needed.

"Booth, I was wondering if I could take one of your T-shirts back with me to Chicago. You know, just so I can have something that smells like you around me," she asked, propping herself up on her elbow so that she was hovering over him, looking him in the eye as she absent-mindedly drew patterns on his bare chest with her finger tips.

"Bones, look, you don't need my permission. Okay, it's…it's cool," Booth said, suddenly becoming distant, looking anywhere but her. He didn't pull away from her physically, but Tempe could tell he was putting walls up again. She knew because she was the master at putting up walls, of shutting people she loved out of her life.

"You say that, but you won't look at me," she said softly, titling her head to try and catch his eyes with her own. "You're the one who taught me the value of making eye contact, so, please?" she asked leaning down to capture his lips with her own, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them back up, she saw him open his as well and look at her straight in the eyes. The love and sadness she saw pouring out of his soulful brown eyes almost overwhelmed her.

"I'm sorry," he said, reaching out one of his hands to cradle her cheek, sweeping her hair back behind her ear, kissing her again. "I just…I don't do really good with change, I guess."

Tempe nodded, knowing that she didn't either. But after talking with Booth about this issue over the last several weeks, she was secure enough in their relationship to know that while she would miss seeing him everyday, they would survive the separation intact.

"But we will only be apart for a year," he told her, cracking what she thought was a pitiful version of his charm smile. "And we will visit each other whenever we can. So, hey, what's a year?"

"It's the time it takes the Earth to make a full revolution around the sun," she said with a smile, not able to resist teasing him a little bit with her 'squint talk,' as he called it. As she said that, she made an oval shape with her finger on his chest, causing him to shiver.

"In the scheme of things," he stressed, trying to get her back on topic. "You know, the grand scheme. Just saying, a year is just, you know…it's not too bad." Tempe had the feeling that Booth was trying to convince himself as well as her that this was going to be okay. And she wasn't sure that either of them were buying it.

"Right."

"Right."

With that, Tempe decided she was done talking about it and climbed on top of him, wanting to spend all the remaining time they had together being together.

A/N: So, let me know what you think. I just request that if you throw tomatoes that they are not too rotten. : )


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews for the last chapter! I thankfully didn't get horribly rotten tomatoes. ; ) Now a question: I could see this story going on for two more chapters or for quite a while longer (around 10 more chapters) but it just depends on the interest in this little universe I have created for Booth and Brennan. Let me know if the interest is still there. Thanks guys for your continued encouragement and enjoy!

Chapter 17

July 1997

There were lots of things that Booth hated about Chicago. First, it was the home of the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, a most hated rival of his beloved Philadelphia Flyers. Second, it was the place of the only family vacation his family ever took when he was 7. Needless to say, it had turned out disastrously, only to be topped off by his father getting pulled over for a DUI on the way home and his mother, brother, and himself were stranded in a jail in Lorain, Ohio while his father sobered up in the drunk tank. But mostly, he hated Chicago because that is where his girlfriend was currently while he was 585 miles away in Pennsylvania.

And even though he and Bones talked on the phone everyday with their standard phone date time of 11 pm, things just weren't the same. After all, they had lived together for 7 months before she had to go back to Northwestern University to finish up her schooling. He missed waking up to her everyday, to coming home to find her on the couch with her journals while listening to classical music, to watching her work meticulously on her bones in the lab; basically he missed everything.

He was trying to keep himself busy in her absence. Not only was he taking a full course load for summer school and working full time at his security job, he also joined an amateur hockey team called the Penn State Icers that played games on the weekends. It was nice to make some friends at his school and get a little more involved. In fact, that is what he was doing tonight, grabbing a slice with some of his teammates after practice.

But with practice running late, Booth couldn't help but keep checking his watch, hoping that he wouldn't miss Bones' phone call.

"Come on, Booth, our conversation boring you or something?" his teammate Andy asked as he noticed Booth checking his watch for about the eighth time in eight minutes.

"Naw, man, it's his girl. Got him whipped," Jeff teased miming cracking a whip while he spoke. Booth just rolled his eyes at the good-natured ribbing as he took a bite of the vegetarian pizza that Bones got him hooked on.

"Have you guys seen her? Damn, if I had a girl that looked like that, I wouldn't be here looking at your ugly mugs, that's for sure," Wally shot back at them, making the table laugh. "Where is she at again, Booth? California?"

"No, Chicago. She is really busy right now though because they are turning their research article for evaluation to some big journal. It's the first one she has ever co-authored so she is pretty stressed out," Booth said, proud of Bones' accomplishments but at the same time worried about her well-being. She tended to ignore eating when she was working super hard and he was anxious that he wasn't there to help her out.

"Wow, Booth, you really are wrapped around her little finger," Andy said, playfully punching him in the shoulder at the same time.

"Happily," he responded, not at all hiding the fact.

"All right, enough about Booth's perfect little life, what about our game this weekend? We got to discuss strategy here if we have any chance of winning," Jeff said, changing the subject. Booth spent the rest of the dinner getting into the discussion of hockey strategy, happy to be out and being active.

At 10:59, he ran through the door of his apartment, hearing the phone ring from the coffee table.

"Bones," he said as he hurried to pick up the phone, knowing that she would be the only one calling.

"_Hey, Booth. Are you okay? You sound out of breath."_

He laughed into the phone, sitting down and kicking of his shoes. "Yeah, babe, I just got back from the going out with my hockey team after our practice. It ran a little late tonight so I just came through the door when you called."

"_Oh, that's good. I'm glad to hear that you went to hockey practice today. Didn't you have a paper due in one of the your classes tomorrow?"_

Booth groaned into the phone. "Yeah, I still have a paper to do for tomorrow. I kind of decided to go to hockey practice instead of working on it," he admitted, waiting for her reprimand.

"_Booth…"_

"I know, Bones, I know. But since I was able to bring your old computer back here with me after I helped to move you over to Chicago, I won't have to spend the night at the library. I can sit in the comfort of our apartment and work into the night."

"_You mean morning."_

"Yep, the morning I guess," as he looked over at the clock that reminded him it was indeed 11:15 at night. "That's okay though. I don't like sleeping without you beside me anyway," he added softly, half hoping she didn't hear him.

"_Are you having nightmares again?"_

"Sometimes, Bones," he said with a sigh. He didn't want to worry her with the fact that the nightmares had come back like a bat out of hell. "But mostly I just miss being next to you."

"_I miss being next to you too. But I sleep in the shirt you left with me every night and it helps a little bit. My olfactory senses can sometimes stimulate my cells to believe that you are actually here."_

"Nice squint speak, babe," he complimented.

"_Thanks, honey."_

Laughing at her term of endearment, he asked about her day. "So how is the article going? Is my favorite professor letting you have some breaks?"

He heard her sigh over the phone. _"It's going okay, Booth. The article has to be sent in by Thursday in order to be eligible for the next publication of the journal. But it is not even close and I feel like I am doing all the work. Rachel is coming over in a little bit to help but I feel like Stires has put all the work on me. I don't mean to complain; it is an amazing opportunity at my age and level in school to co-author a paper in a nationally recognized academic journal but it is frustrating to not have any help."_

"I'm sorry to hear that, Bones. I would help if I could but the paper would definitely be worse if my input were in there," he said, happy to hear her laugh at his statement. "More importantly, Bones, when was the last time you ate something?"

Her silence answered his question. "Babe, you need to eat. I don't mean to be over-bearing but I know how you get when you are working. Promise me you'll eat something," he pleaded.

"_Okay, Booth, I promise. My dad is taking me out for dinner on Thursday night to celebrate so I'm sure he will help me make up for any calories I have missed this week."_ He heard her pause over the phone. _"Booth, Rachel is here, I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow."_

"Sounds good, Bones. I love you," he finished.

"_Love you too."_

Booth put the phone back in the cradle, sitting back on the couch, thinking about his conservation with her. He really was worried about her. One of the things he loved about her was her passion about things she loved, he and her work being two of those things. He was happy to hear that Max was watching out for her. He had found a job as an electrician out there and was meeting with Bones at least once a week. It made Booth feel better that he was out there with her.

Starting up the computer, he was ready to buckle down for a long night of work. But a slip of paper on the edge of the small desk gave him an idea. Rushing back over to the phone, he picked it up, hoping he wasn't too late.

* * *

"Tempe, I think the methods section needs to have more defined outcomes," Rachel told her as she looked over the paper. Tempe sighed, knowing she was right but not knowing how to fix it. She had been staring at this paper for the last eight hours and she could even still see it when she closed her eyes.

"I know, Rachel, believe me I do. But I have not figured out how to fix it yet," she said, rubbing her hands over her face like her boyfriend does when he is frustrated.

"Well, let me see how I can help. We have just under 36 hours to get it done," Rachel said, relocating to the small couch Tempe had in her dorm room. Tempe continued to sit at her desk, seriously considering throwing her computer monitor out the window. Although it was irrational and wouldn't solve anything, she felt like it might at least make her feel better, if for only a moment.

After about a half an hour of silent work, a knock on the door startled both girls out of their silent thoughts.

"You expecting someone else, Tempe?" Rachel asked from the couch.

"No," she answered, opening the door to see a pizza box being shoved into her arms.

"A pizza for 'Bones'" the pizza guy said, who looked like he couldn't be more than sixteen.

"I'm Bones, but I didn't order a pizza," she answered.

"It's paid for by some guy named Booth. Enjoy," the kid said as he walked down the hallway and toward the elevator.

Tempe stood dumbfounded in the door for a moment before the smell of the pizza made her stomach grumble with hunger.

"Mmm, you didn't tell me you ordered a pizza," Rachel said as she got up from the couch and went over to open the lid of the box.

"I didn't. Booth ordered it for me," she said as she picked up the phone, dialing the number she knew by heart.

"Booth ordered you a pizza all the way from Pennsylvania? You two are so cute together it makes me want to vomit," she said around a mouthful of pizza. Tempe just smiled as the phone rang.

"_Why, Bones? Whatever are you doing calling me at this hour?"_

She could hear the mirth in his voice as he answered the phone. "I just wanted to let you know that this really great guy just bought me some pizza."

"_Really? Should I be worried about this guy coming between us?"_

"Definitely, because I am completely in love with him," she said over the phone, ignoring the gagging motions Rachel was making from the couch, now on her second slice of pizza.

"_Yikes. Well I am very happy for this guy then because he is the luckiest SOB in the world to have a girl like you in love with him."_

"How did you do this, Booth? Did Dad help you?" she asked, her natural curiosity getting the better of her.

"_No, Bones, I had the receipt from the time we went out for pizza when I helped you move and just gave them my credit card number over the phone. I know how hard you have been working and I know that you also neglect to eat when you are working so I thought I would help in whatever way I could."_

"How come you are so good to me?" she asked, finally taking a piece of pizza from the box.

"_Just returning the favor, babe. I love talking to you but I really have to work on this paper if it is ever going to get finished. I love you, eat well, and try and get some sleep tonight, okay?"_

"Okay, honey. I love you too and good luck with your paper. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Hanging up, she dove into the pizza, suddenly finding a renewed vigor to work on her article, thinking how lucky she was to have him in her life, even if he was so far away at the moment.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: So, by popular demand, this story will be going on for quite a few more chapters. I'm glad everyone liked the pizza storyline. That actually happened to me when my boyfriend lived in St. Louis and me in Orange County so I just had to include it in the story, with his permission, of course. ; ) And I'm not sure when Brennan's birthday is so I made up that it is in January. Onto the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 18

February 1998

"Ange, what are you doing out here? The temperature is close to freezing," Tempe exclaimed as she saw her flighty artist friend sitting on the dock of the Navy pier in Chicago with her easel and paints out. From what Tempe could see, she was painting the frozen lake with Soldier Field in the background, where Booth told her some kind of sporting event took place. It always amazed Tempe how Angela was able to look at places or people, instantly recognize their underlying structures and then be able to communicate that through her artwork. It really was quite impressive and what attracted her to Angela's artwork in the first place. She had even purchased a few of her pieces and then put them up in Booth's apartment when she furnished it about a year and a half ago.

"Sweetie!" Angela returned, getting up from her spot on the empty bench to wrap Tempe in a bear hug, surprised to see her friend. "Well, I was in my shitty apartment that has no heat and decided if I was freezing, I was going to do it in a spot where I could at least paint and be inspired. I mean look at this place! Isn't it just gorgeous?"

"It's cold," Tempe replied, not quite seeing what Angela was talking about and answering in her normal blunt tone.

"Well, Bren, why don't we warm up with some coffee and you can tell me about the reason you were wandering around out here in the cold weather you have professed to hate," Angela told her as she started to pack up her paints. Tempe was surprised that they hadn't frozen in the cold.

The girls walked about half a block from the Navy Pier to a local coffee shop that they preferred to the local Starbucks. According to Angela, it didn't have the same 'corporate attitude' that she observed in Starbucks. Personally, Tempe couldn't tell the difference. She was just glad it was warm.

After settling down in the corner of the café with their warm drinks and shedding their outer layers of clothing, Angela got right down to business.

"So I haven't seen you since the New Year. How was the holidays with Studly in Philly?" Angela asked.

Tempe couldn't help but smiling at the memories of her winter break. Pops and Grams had invited her and Max out to Philadelphia for the holidays and she had a great time. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was part of a family again. They went decorated a Christmas tree, they ate dinner together every night, and opened presents together on Christmas morning. It helped ease the pain of a Christmas six years previous when she woke up to find her parents gone and drove her older brother away.

The only troubling thing about the trip was her first meeting with Booth's little brother, Jared, who was home from the Naval Academy for Christmas. Him and Booth had butted heads the entire time because Booth was not very approving of the way that Jared spent his free time. Actually, Tempe was not sure she had seen Jared sober the entire trip. And it didn't help at all that Jared's girlfriend, Rebecca, didn't seem to get along with Booth either. Apparently, she and Booth 'had a thing' as Booth put it in high school and Rebecca was not very happy to see her and Booth together, especially since Booth refused to hide the fact that they were in love the entire trip. Not that Tempe would ever complain about that, mind you.

It didn't hurt that it was the first time her and Booth got to spend a consecutive two and a half weeks together for the first time in six months. Just when she was thinking that it was too hard, it revitalized their relationship in a big way and reminded them both why they were continuing to be together, mostly because they were deeply in love with each other. And it was also good to see that the passion they had in their relationship was still as strong as ever, she thought, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.

"By that smile, I can tell it was good. I want to hear all about it," Angela said when Tempe took too long to answer, leaning across the table so she could listen to every word.

"It was wonderful, Ange. Booth is doing well, looking forward to graduating at the end of the semester. He has talked to a couple of recruiters from the FBI and he is very interested in working there. Booth's grandparents and my dad got along really well, which was very nice to see, especially since they will probably be seeing each other a lot more in the future." Tempe froze after her statement: did she really say that out loud?

"Oh, already making plans for the future, are we? Did Booth mention anything about maybe tying the knot anytime in the near future? And don't give me any of that 'marriage is an antiquated ritual' crap," Angela asked and Tempe could see the mischief in her eyes.

"Well, it is. The concept that even in today's society that we have a tradition that symbolizes passing the woman from her father to another man is absurd," Tempe started until she saw Angela's glare. "Booth has been saying that he is going to marry me since week 2 of our relationship, which I have largely dismissed as his enhanced feminine side. But lately, I have found that I want it to happen. I have been thinking about what it would be like to call Booth my husband, and it actually sounds quite appealing," she finished. She hadn't told Booth this yet but she did plan on discussing it with him very soon. If only she could figure out how to say it.

"Well, isn't that sweet. My little Bren is all grown up," Angela said, wiping away a fake tear. She laughed at Tempe's reproachful expression. "It's adorable though, Bren, it really is. Are you going to see him anytime soon?"

"I am actually, for Valentine's Day. Not because I find anything romantic or meaningful about a day created so that corporations can make more money," Tempe quickly added at Angela's look of glee. "The timing just worked out. The plane ticket my dad bought me for my birthday last month were going to expire at the end of the month and I had a four day weekend over that date. But Booth doesn't know yet. I am going to surprise him."

Tempe personally thought her plan was genius. She still had a key to what Booth still called 'their apartment,' so her plan was to get in while Booth was at work, cook her mac n' cheese, and then spend a romantic weekend with her boyfriend.

"I'm glad one of us at least is in a stable relationship. But I have to tell you about my latest musician. Sweetie, I am telling you, this one, was _very_ talented," Angela started and Tempe settled in to listen to eccentric friend's most recent escapade.

* * *

Booth was exhausted, and quite frankly, a little grumpy as he walked back to his apartment after finishing a six hour shift at his security job at the museum. All of this was after having a full day of class. Even though that was enough to make him exhausted, the grumpy part came after one of the guys at his work described in detail the Valentine's Day plans he had with his girlfriend. And when he asked Booth what he was planning on doing with Bones, he could only reply that he was planning on sending her flowers. The only positive thing he could find about today was that at least it was Friday and he had a three-day weekend to look forward to. He wasn't even going to think about the 3 midterms and the paper that was due next week.

And this was the one instance where he was happy to lug around his freaking heavy backpack because at least it offered a little protection against the freezing cold. He was looking forward to getting back to his place and taking a hot shower before collapsing in bed, taking a quick nap before his nightly phone date with Bones.

A brief smile graced his lips as he thought about him and Bones' last Valentine's Day. Although she kept telling him that she did not find any significance in the day, he finally convinced her to let him do something nice for her because he wanted to, not because it just happened to be Valentine's Day. She relented and they spent a wonderful day together, starting with Booth's famous omelets and ending with breaking the laws of physics. It wasn't anything extravagant but it was them, simply in love. Maybe that is why he was not looking forward to this weekend at all; he just missed Bones so damn much.

A rush of warm air hit him as he walked through the front door of his apartment building and he was relieved to be out of the cold. Climbing up the stairs to his third floor studio, he fished his keys out of his pocket with numb fingers and swung open the door of his apartment, immediately noticing that something was not right. His apartment had the best smell to it; a smell he only associated with one person that he knew was 600 miles away.

Maybe not.

"Hey, Booth," he heard from the kitchen. Dropping his backpack and closing the door, he peered around the corner and saw his girlfriend standing there in a pair of his sweats, a t-shirt, and a pair of his colorful socks. Booth seriously thought he was hallucinating for a second and didn't move from where he had stopped in the entryway of his apartment. Her hand on his cheek startled him out of his trance and once he realized that she was really there, he crushed her to him, wrapping his arms around her with no plans of letting go.

"Oof, Booth, you're squishing me," he heard her say and loosened his grip a little bit but kept her within the circle of his arms, still not able to speak. He felt her hands come to hold his face and she directed his eyes to hers, softly stroking his jaw at the same time.

"Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart," she said, pulling his head down for a kiss. Still in shock, Booth responded enthusiastically to her offering, deepening the kiss immediately, picking her up and carrying her toward the bed.

"Booth, we haven't even eaten yet," Tempe protested weakly, not really upset that her plans had been changed slightly.

"Later," he muttered, completely wrapped by in her and wanting her in every way possible.

Several hours later, when their initial passion had been somewhat sated, they made their way out of the bed and Booth cut up some vegetables while she was reheating her mac n' cheese. They had dressed in whatever clothes he had laying around, both comfortably lounging in sweatpants and T-shirts in his thankfully heated apartment. He couldn't stop smiling, suddenly re-energized even though he had been up for more than 14 hours.

Finished with the salad, he put everything in a bowl and walked up behind Bones, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder, lightly kissing the side of her neck as he did so. She turned her head at his touch, smiling at him and giving him a gentle kiss on the lips before adding a touch of nutmeg to the top of her dish.

As they sat down to eat, Booth pulled his chair up right next to hers, not wanting to be away from her for even a second.

"Thanks, Bones. This is the best surprise ever. How did you ever manage it?" he asked, digging into his food.

"Dad got me a round trip plane ticket for my birthday last month and I had the weekend free so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to come out and see you. I know you are really busy but I missed you so much and just needed to see you."

He leaned across the table for another kiss, partly moved by her statement and partly because he could. He was so proud and amazed by how much she had grown since they started their relationship. When he pulled back, he could see a little pinchy look on her face and he knew something was going on in that genius mind of hers. He let it go for the moment though, happy to just be with her.

Later, when they were spooning in bed after another round, he was close to sleep, happily exhausted when he heard her call out to him.

"What's up, Bones?" he managed to get out, surprised at how gravelly his voice sounded. He pulled her closer, fitting her body into his, her back to his front. He felt her hesitation before she spoke.

"I just wanted to let you know that if, at some point in the future, you wanted to get married, I think I would like that," she finished softly. "Good night," she said, snuggling into his arms and promptly falling asleep now that she got that of her chest.

Booth, however, was no longer tired. His mind was reeling, going a mile a minute as a huge, stupid grin stretched across his face. He thought of the ring that was sitting in a locked box underneath the bed and started devising a plan for asking his soul mate to marry him, pulling her even closer and placing a soft kiss on the back of her neck as he too fell asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: So this has pretty much turned into a full on fluff fest to help me with my angst over the Season 6 promos. I haven't read any of the spoilers, so please don't say anything about what is coming in Season 6 if you leave a comment. Thanks! But anyway, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 19

May 1998

"Come on, Booth, if we don't leave now we are going to be late. And I am not going to be late to my own graduation, not after you were late to your own last week," Tempe called to her boyfriend, who was seriously lagging right now.

They had come over to her father's apartment earlier in the day so that they could all take one car to her graduation from Northwestern University, which was guaranteed to be crowded. At twenty-one years old, Tempe was the youngest person in her class and she was graduating summa cum laude, or as she had to explain to Booth, 'with highest honor.' But as excited as she was about graduating from college, she was nervous about the future; maybe not for the same reasons as the rest of her class, but she was nervous nonetheless.

In the fall, she was going to be attending Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland to pursue her PhD in Anthropology while Booth was going to begin the twenty-one week course at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. She was shocked that he had gotten accepted in the Special Agent program so quickly but as he explained to her, his four years of decorated service as an Army Ranger made his acceptance possible. She was so happy for him. He really looked at this job as some sort of salvation for the lives he took as a sniper. And of course she was very excited about her acceptance into Johns Hopkins. She would be able to further her research in biological anthropology at an amazing institution and she already had an internship lined up at the Medico-Legal Lab at the world famous Jeffersonian Institute. Of course, their successes would mean that they would spend the summer together before again being separated for a considerable amount of time. They would only be about 90 miles away from each other this time, which made Tempe feel better. And while they had gotten through this last separation more in love than when they began, Booth was not acting like himself and it was starting to worry her.

It started last week when she went out to Pennsylvania to see Booth graduate from Penn State University. He was of course excited to see her and they had a great time together like they always but she felt he was different in some way. And it scared her. At this point, she wasn't sure what she would do without him and to be frank, she was worried that he was becoming more distant because he was going to break up with her before he went off to training. Their lives were going in separate directions and the only thing that was keeping them together was their love. Tempe was worried it might not be enough.

Even now, she found him in the bathroom, nervously looking in the mirror and checking his appearance once again. Tempe thought he looked great, but she always thought that. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black, long sleeved button up collared shirt. He had even put some gel in his hair that he had let grow a little longer than the Army buzz cut he had when she met him.

She walked up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist, her heels giving her the height advantage that she needed to peek over his shoulder and rest her chin right there. His smile at her presence made her feel so joyous, that she could cause that feeling in someone else.

"You look fine, Booth. Now let's go," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek before turning to leave the bathroom. But as she turned to leave, he grabbed her hand and brought her within the circle of his arms once again, a place she always liked to be.

"You look so beautiful today, Bones. I am so proud of you," he told her, bringing her closer and giving her a soft, sweet kiss.

"Thanks, Booth. Now let's go. In an hour we will both officially be college graduates," Tempe told him, dragging him behind her.

"There you guys are," Max said as they walked into the living room. "Let's go, the traffic is going to be horrible."

As they drove down to the university, Tempe and Booth sat in the backseat, unwilling to be apart from each other when they were in the same place. Max just rolled his eyes at the arrangement and would occasionally look back at them in the rear view mirror at the pair, sometimes glaring at Booth if they were too close and sometimes getting this far away look in his eyes. Even he was acting weird the last couple of weeks, but Tempe attributed that to the fact that she would be moving again. When she told Max that she got into Johns Hopkins, he was thrilled for her, of course, and told her he was going to move with her, and true to his word, he already had a job lined up in Maryland. But with him looking at her with a wistful, sometimes sad look in his eyes and Booth being distant, she had a feeling of foreboding that she never had before.

But she was able to put that to the side for her graduation and when she walked across that stage and saw both Max and Booth standing and cheering wildly in the crowd, she could not contain her smile. Four years ago when she started at Northwestern, she was excited about the academic possibilities that her future held for her but she was still a scared, sixteen year old kid that had just been rescued out of the foster care system by a kind soul who knew her mother. Now, she was looking forward to a future with Booth and to a solid relationship with her dad as well as pursuing her future in academia. If only she could figure out what was going on.

After the seemingly hundreds of pictures they took, pictures that matched the ones they took at Booth's graduation last week that Tempe knew would look awesome together in the same frame, Max went ahead of them to get the car. With all the traffic coming out of the university, Booth and Tempe decided to walk to the restaurant they would eat dinner at, the afternoon ceremony leading to a beautiful dusky sky and a warm summer breeze off of Lake Michigan. Handing off her cap and gown to her father, Booth grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers together as their hands swung between them while they walked along the lake and into the heart of the city.

As they walked, Booth was suspiciously quiet, seeming to take in the scenery but Tempe knew different. When he let go of her hand, that was the last straw for her.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Tempe asked with her usually blunt style.

"What? Bones, what are you talking about?" Booth asked, looking genuinely shocked at her statement, which made her feel a little bit better. If he was shocked at her question, then maybe he wasn't going to break up with her.

"You have been acting…weird lately. You get wrapped up in our own little world and sometimes when you look at me, it is like you are looking past me. Look, Booth, I know it is going to be hard to be away again when you are in training and I am at Johns Hopkins but it is only going to be for about six months this time and we have the whole summer to spend together before then. Just, please don't leave me," she finished; angry at the way her throat was closing up with tears at the end of her statement.

"No, Bones, I'm not leaving you, I could never leave you," he said. "Boy, I must not be doing this right if you think I am going to break up with you," he said under his breath, but she heard him.

"Doing what, Booth? What is going on with you?" As a scientist, Tempe was used to using her higher reasoning to solve mysteries but with this, she couldn't think of a logical reason as to why he was acting this way, and it was really starting to frustrate her. "Wait a minute, did Dad say something to you? Because he has been acting really odd lately too, but don't-"

Booth interrupted her with a deeply passionate kiss, framing her face with his hands and softly stroking her cheekbones with his thumbs. She immediately responded to the kiss, grabbing his shirt in both her hands right above his hips, deepening the kiss by pushing her tongue past his teeth and into his mouth. After several minutes and one catcall later, he pulled back from her but still kept his hands on her face.

"Look at me, Bones, open your eyes," he told her softly as he touched his forehead to hers, making sure they were only centimeters apart.

She opened up her eyes and saw the look he normally gave her when they were together, one full of hope, honestly, laughter, and most importantly, love. It took her breath away.

"I love you so much, Bones. You know when you talk to older couples who, you know, have been in love for 30 or 40 or 50 years, alright, it's always the guy who says 'I knew.' I knew. Right from the beginning. You are the only one that I want to be with for the rest of my life."

Tempe was stunned. Booth was normally very expressive with his feelings but she had never heard him talk to her this openly before. She protested slightly as he pulled away from her but then gasped as she saw him get down on one knee in front of her and pull a box out of his pocket.

"Bones, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Marry me?"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

May 1998

Booth was convinced if he stayed on one knee anymore, he was going to have a bruise. And even though it had probably only been a minute since he asked what may be the most important question of his life, in his anxious mind, time slowed down. He was cataloguing every emotion that crossed her face, from surprise to worry to love.

But even though he saw the love as clear as day on her face, he was still really nervous. He thought she would say 'yes;' they had been together for almost two years and talked about their future together frequently but it didn't mean he wasn't nervous.

"Yes," she said, the most beautiful smile gracing her lips. It took him a minute to catch up, to realize that she was agreeing to spend the rest of her life with him and to love him as well.

"Aren't you supposed to put that ring on my finger now?" Tempe asked with a laugh as she stuck out her left hand from where she had been clenching them together, and Booth felt her infectious excitement. Fumbling slightly, he took the modest 1.5 carat diamond ring set in white gold out of the black jeweler's box that was a family heirloom on his mother's side of the family and placed it on Bones' left ring finger.

As he rose up to his feet again, he saw her studying her new piece of jewelry like she would study one of her bones. But this time, she had a look of joy on her face. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her close to him, not wanting to be more than inches away from her for even a minute, even though now he knew they were going to be together forever.

"It's beautiful, Booth. I love it, and more importantly, I love you. So much," she said as she out her hands on the sides of his face, pulling him down for a kiss. Bones was never one to wear rings before and he felt the cold metal of the ring against his face where it rested on her finger. He smiled into the kiss, a happiness bubbling up inside him that he could never remember feeling before.

"Thank you, Bones," he told her as they broke the kiss, for air more than anything else. "You have made me the happiest person in the world today. I promise you won't regret saying yes, I promise that I will try my best to make you happy for the rest of our lives, together."

"I know you will, Booth. And I promise to do the same for you. You have no idea how happy you have made me," she finished as she leaned in to kiss him again.

"Come on, Bones, let's keep going. Your dad is going to wonder where we are and it is starting to get dark outside," Booth said, keeping an arm around her shoulders as they started to walk again toward the restaurant.

"Wait a minute, my dad!" Bones exclaimed after several minutes of walking in happy silence. "That's why he was acting so weird earlier! He knew about this didn't he?"

Booth winced, hoping she wasn't going to be mad at him for asking her father for her hand in marriage. He knew Bones thought that was antiquated and chauvinistic but he also knew that his Grams would be very angry if he did not go through the proper channels before asking for her hand in marriage.

"Bones, Grams would have killed me if I didn't ask Max. But even if he said 'no', I still would have asked you to marry me. I love you too much to not want to spend the rest of my life with you," he told her, kissing her temple as they slowed their pace a little bit. This seemed to apiece her, as she kissed his lips, then broke the kiss with a smile. At his questioning look, she started to laugh.

"Boy, I would have loved to be a spider on the wall for that conversation," she told him, wrapping her left arm around his waist and he hand clenched the material there in her hand.

"Fly on the wall, Bones," he automatically corrected her, slightly chuckling as he remembered the conversation she mentioned.

_Booth was nervous: not only was he graduating from college today but he was going to ask his girlfriend's father if he would give him his daughter's hand in marriage. Personally, he did not think this was a necessary action, but his grandmother had told him in no uncertain terms that the fastest way to get on his potential father-in-law's bad side was to not include him in this process even if his answer did not change the outcome._

_Bones and Max had come out from Chicago for his graduation and he was so excited to see them. This day would not be nearly as special if his Bones wasn't here. He just wanted to get asking Max over with so they could continue on with the week._

_He already knew exactly how he wanted to ask her, too. He was going to ask her along the beach of Lake Michigan near Northwestern University on her graduation day. There was a beautiful spot they had walked many times when he had visited her at the university and he knew it was one of her favorite spots on the campus. Now he just had to get her father's permission, and somehow, asking a confessed bank robber to ask about marrying his daughter seemed more scary then asking the daughter to marry him._

_"Hey, Booth," Bones said as he walked into his bathroom. He was currently just in his towel, which was tied low around his hips after his shower, getting ready for the barbecue that he was having with his family tonight, a small celebration before his graduation ceremony tomorrow. Pops and Grams had driven in from Philadelphia this morning and were going to be taking his bed while he slept on the couch of his apartment tonight. As much as he wanted to sleep in the same bed with Bones like they normally did when they were together but out of respect for their families, they decided against it._

_He loved that she walked in here like she owned the place, that she was completely comfortable with him and sharing an environment. She squeezed into the space between him and the counter, placing her hands on his bare chest and reaching up to give him a peck on his lips._

_"Grams and I are going to go out to the supermarket to grab some drinks for dinner. Pops is out cleaning the barbecue. Are you gonna be okay here with Dad while we are gone?" she asked as her hands moved to stroke the skin on the back of his neck. He placed his hands on the counter behind him on either side of her hips, leaning forward to tease her lips in a series of kisses._

_"I think you better go before I have to take another shower," Booth told her with a lecherous grin. "We'll be fine, Bones. Go out shopping with Grams," he told her as he gently pushed her out of the bathroom, closing the door to get a hold of himself before going to talk to Max. He wasn't going to get a better opportunity than this._

_After composing himself and rehearsing his speech several times, he went outside and found Max sitting on the couch, looking at the engagement ring he planned on using to propose to Bones next week._

_Oh crap._

_"What do you got there, Max?" Booth asked, knowing exactly what he was looking at and shoving his hands in his jean pockets._

_"Cut the crap, Booth. I found this ring this morning. You finally gonna make an honest woman out of my only daughter?" Max asked, not taking his eyes off of the ring._

_Booth's head was spinning. This was definitely not how he pictured this conversation going and he had no idea how Max kept getting one step ahead of him. When he was a soldier, he never let anyone get the drop on him and it kept him alive. But this man seemed to always know his plans and it creped him out._

_"What do you mean that you found it this morning, Max? I know for a fact that I had that ring very well hidden," Booth said instead, trying to take control over the conversation again, although he was beginning to doubt he ever had control in the first place._

_"You didn't answer my question, Booth," Max stated and Booth sighed, giving up and deciding to do this Max's way. He sat down on the couch beside him and Max finally took his eyes off of the ring in his hands and looked into Booth's eyes._

_"Max, Bones is my whole life. I'd die for her, I'd kill for her, and I'd do just about anything to keep her safe and happy. And I know her well enough to know that she would be pissed off if she knew we were having this conversation because she has her own mind and her own heart and doesn't need us deciding her life for her. But your blessing is important to her, Max, and it is important to me too. So I'm not going to ask for your permission to marry your daughter because I am going to ask her with or without your permission but I am asking for your support and for you to support our life together, if Bones agrees to it."_

_Max just sat there and gave him a piercing look. Booth suddenly understood why Max could be such a non-violent bank robber. That look could intimidate just about anyone. But Booth was not going to back down; like he said, he would do anything for Bones. Then suddenly, with a snap that seemed to echo throughout the room, Max closed the jeweler's box and put the box in Booth's hand._

_"Just keep her happy, son," was all he said before getting up and leaving the apartment. Boot sat for a moment before getting up and looking out the window to see Max and Pops talking together at the grill. Booth braced himself on the windowsill, glad to have Max's approval and thinking that proposing to Bones couldn't be half as hard as that conversation._

And it turned out he was right, Booth thought as him and his fiancé walked arm in arm. Fiancé. He liked the sound of that word attached to his Bones.

All he wanted to do was make her happy and judging by the look on her face right now, she was exactly that, as she leaned her head on his shoulder and cuddled in closer to him as they walked.

He knew that with their schedules, it would be tough, at least for the next couple of months after their summer together. But Booth knew after his training at the FBI Academy he would be able to pick his top three choices of where he wanted to be placed and he already knew that he wanted to work the Criminal Division at the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington D.C. Bones had already gotten an internship at the Jeffersonian in D.C. while she was at Johns Hopkins so he knew that they could be together if that happened. And while it was still a big if, he knew that their love would keep them together, as corny as that sounded. But he truly believed it.

"Here we are, Booth. Let's go inside and tell my dad the good news," Bones told him as she pulled him into the restaurant and he couldn't help but smile at her good cheer.

And when they walked inside and Max saw the joy on his daughter's face, he wrapped Booth in a big bear hug after he let go of his daughter. In that moment, he remembered when he told Bones there was more than one type of family and he was right. Him and Bones were starting to create their own family and he couldn't be happier.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Thank you so much for the amazing response to the last two chapters. More fluff to come. This will be the last update for about a week or so but then comes some pretty juicy stuff so be sure to stay tuned. Enjoy!

Chapter 21

July 1998

"Hon, can you grab that box over there?" Tempe asked Booth, exhausted by the two days straight of moving.

"Yeah, Bones, I got it. Why don't you take a load off for a while, okay, babe?" he said as he steered her over to the couch and gently pushed her down onto the cushion. Laughing at the indigent look on her face at his action, he leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss before doing as she asked and carrying the box into their bedroom.

Tempe sank back into the cushion of the comfortable, worn-in couch they had brought over from Booth's studio apartment at Penn State to their new shared one bedroom apartment they got in Washington D.C., right near Rock Creek Park. Since Tempe had lived in a furnished dorm room while she was at Northwestern University, they had spend the last several days packing up the furniture that Booth had in his apartment and moving all of it over to their new place. And to add to the stress of moving and getting settled in a new place, her internship at the Jeffersonian started in three days. Booth assured her she was going to be great but Tempe knew the prestige of the institution and was nervous about working for someone with the academic prestige that the administrator of the Medico-Legal Lab, Dr. Goodman, had.

But despite all the distress she was feeling, it didn't come close to the happiness she felt. Every time her ring caught the sunlight and the reflection hit her eyes, she felt her love for Booth rise up inside her. It was a pretty awesome feeling. She found that she loved being introduced to new people and hearing Booth introduce her as 'his fiancé.' When she met the other Jeffersonian interns, she was surprised that one of the first things that the other women in the group noticed was her ring. She felt like she needed to carry around a picture of Booth in her purse just to show all of the other women who he was. But there was supposed to be a dinner for everyone in the lab in a couple of weeks so she was excited that she could go there and start introducing Booth as HER fiancé.

Deciding she had sat for too long, she got up and started sorting through one of the boxes marked 'living room.' In this particular box were the pictures from the picture wall she had made for him in his old apartment. Now, she was excited to create a place that was theirs; both their names were on the lease and this would be the place they both lived for the rest of the summer and hopefully if Booth got the placement he wanted in Washington D.C. She also couldn't wait to add to the picture wall with the pictures they had taken over the course of their two year relationship and now, engagement.

That was something else they had decided: they both wanted a long engagement, setting a tentative wedding date for September of next year. That way, Booth would be eight months into his job and she would have one year of a three-year doctoral program. Sometimes she got sad thinking about planning the wedding, thinking that this was something that she and her mother should have done. But Grams was so enthusiastic about it that she had already started even though Booth kept reiterating to her that they wanted something same and simple, for family and closet friends only. Tempe was skeptical that that would still be the plan a year from now.

Looking around the living room of the one bedroom apartment, she thought they had done a pretty good job so far. The kitchen was isolated from the rest of the apartment with a bar that separated it from the small area that was meant for a dining room table and chairs. She and Booth would love to get an overstuffed chair for the loving room that went with the couch, and of course, the TV already was in the spot that Booth had picked out when they first saw the apartment.

"Hey, Bones, where did you want the dresser?" Booth called from their bedroom. She was very excited they actually had a door to the bedroom and not a curtain that was held there by a shower rod.

The second hand furniture Tempe had purchased in the thrift store in University Park had held up really well and they definitely saved money by moving it to Washington D.C. and not having to purchase new furniture. She looked around the room; her heighted awareness of spatial depth helped her organize in her head exactly where everything would fit.

"Why don't you put it against this wall here, Booth. That way to won't block the bottom part of the window," she told him, watching as he moved it to the exact spot she pointed out. As he did that, she got the sheets out of the washer/dryer unit they had in their apartment and made the bed. It looked awfully inviting right about now.

Apparently Booth thought the exact same thing as he dramatically flopped onto the bed.

"Booth!" she exclaimed. "You are going to mess it all up," she whined, looking at the now wrinkled sheets.

He just grinned at her and pulled her down onto the bed before rolling her underneath him.

"I was planning on doing that anyway," he whispered to her right before leaning down and capturing her lips in a fiercely passionate kiss, the motion of his hands on her body stirring up feelings of intense arousal that were always simmering just under the surface whenever he was around.

"You still worried about the sheets, Bones?" Booth teased as he broke the kiss, giving her what she called his 'charm smile.'

"Stop talking, Booth," she countered. "That mouth should be busy doing other things."

* * *

Four days later, Booth was straightening his tie in the mirror he put up two days ago in him and Bones' new apartment. Bones had some get together at the Jeffersonian tonight for all the new interns and even though he was not looking forward to spending the evening with people whose IQ probably doubled his own, he would never complain about being there for Bones. He was going to spend every minute possible with her before he went off to his FBI training in Quantico, Virginia in three weeks.

Bones kept trying to see if he was nervous about his training; she had done some research on what his training would entail, in her typical Bones manner. But he kept telling her he really wasn't; after his years as a sniper in the Army Rangers and the hell his father put him through, he figured he could handle just about anything the FBI was going to throw at him. He couldn't tell her that though; while she knew some of the details about his past, he didn't' tell her everything for a reason. Some of the things that happened to him, he didn't even want to remember much less burden someone else with them.

Satisfied with his appearance, he went out in the living room to wait for Bones. Normally, she didn't take very long to get ready but he knew she wanted to make a good impression in front of her future colleagues tonight so he wasn't going to mention that she had been getting ready for the last forty-five minutes. He may be a guy but he wasn't a complete idiot. Turning the television on and flipping to some random sports game, he patiently waited for his fiancé.

When she finally walked out of their bathroom fifteen minutes later, she literally took his breath away. Although the function tonight was labeled as 'cocktail attire,' he looked she looked absolutely beautiful. Her dress was a midnight blue color that was strapless but tasteful. It fit her body perfectly, with a subtle flair beginning right under her rib cage and extending until it stopped right below her knees. Add to that a pair of silver, strappy heels and Booth thought her legs looked three miles long. She wore one of the chunky necklaces he noticed she had become fond of lately and he couldn't help but smile when he saw his ring sitting on her left ring finger.

"Bones," he said getting up and putting his hands on her waist, pulling her into the circle of his arms. "You look stunning."

She smiled up at him, straightening his tie. "Thanks, hon," she replied, leaning up to give him a sweet kiss. "Now, come on, let's get going. I do not want to be late," she said as she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the apartment, pausing just for a moment to allow him to grab his suit jacket.

Luckily, thanks to the convenient mass transit in Washington D.C., they were able to take the Metro to the Jeffersonian from their apartment. They walked down the block to the station hand-in-hand, enjoying the warm summer evening. He hadn't told her yet, but he was worried about her taking the Metro by herself when he left for Quantico. He knew she would give him the standard 'I can take care of myself' speech that he pretty much had memorized at this point. But he loved her and that's what people did for people they loved; they took care of them. He had arranged with Pops to buy an old but reliable car for her, one that Pops was currently working on and would have fixed up by the time he left.

Before he knew it, they were walking into the beautiful gardens surrounding the Jeffersonian Institute. They were a couple of tents and tables set up around the perimeter of the gardens and lights were strung up everywhere, illuminating the center of the area, where a lot of people were currently milling around.

He kept walking right in but stopped when he felt Bones let go of his hand and stop of a minute.

"Bones? Are you okay?"

She looked at him with indecision in her eyes and he could tell she was hesitant. "What if they don't like me, Booth? I have always been socially awkward and I really want to be able to fit in with these people but I'm scared," she finished in a soft voice. Booth was shocked and sadden by her statement. She rarely showed him this side of her but he always felt privileged whenever she did.

"Bones, if they even she half the person I see when I look at you everyday, they can't help but love you. You are smart, kind, and so passionate about your work. But tonight, if you ever begin to doubt yourself, just look at that ring on your finger and remember that no matter what these people think of you, I love you. Okay, babe?" he finished with a kiss to her forehead.

He could almost feel her confidence come back up and she took his hand again, intertwining their fingers. He followed her into the meet-and-greet, letting her take the reins and just following her lead.

For the first fifteen minutes or so, he studied Bones. She was looking around the crowd, seemingly analyzing every possible scenario both deciding where she wanted to go. Someone else made that decision for her, though.

"Pretty lame party, right? I have been trying to spike the punch with this pure grain alcohol I cooked up earlier but I haven't found the right opportunity."

Booth looked at the shorter man that had approached them, his curly brown hair giving him some additional height. The man wore a corduroy suit jacket with a hoodie underneath, his dark jeans leading to a pair of black Converse shoes, with an 'I Want To Believe' pin on the collar of the jacket.

"And you are?" Booth asked, stepping to the side to let Bones get a good look at the man too.

"Jack Hodgins," he said, sticking his hand out for the both of them to shake.

"I'm Temperance Brennan and this is my fiancé, Seeley Booth," Bones said, beating him to the introduction. He smiled when he heard it though, loving the way she described him. "I'm going to be interning in the Medico-Legal Lab, specializing in forensic anthropology," she continued, and even though Booth could tell she was nervous, he was very proud that she was putting herself out there.

"Oh, I'll be interning in the Medico-Legal Lab, too! I'm working with the bugs and slime though, not the bones directly. You met Goodman, yet?" Hodgins asked.

"Dr. Goodman? No but I have been looking forward to the opportunity for quite some time now. His reputation precedes him," Bones said, slipping her arm around his waist and leaning into him. Whether it was because she was cold or looking for comfort, he didn't care. He loved any excuse to touch her. He reciprocated by putting his hand on her lower back, in the exact spot he was convinced was made for him.

"Yeah, I don't trust him yet. I'm not convinced he isn't a stooge of the Masonic government. I mean the partnership he just made with the FBI is outrageous. This is supposed to be an institute dedicated to scientific exploration and now who knows what kind of crap we are going to be involved with-"

Booth had had quite enough and couldn't control his temper. "Listen, buddy, I'm going to be an FBI Special Agent in about six months so you want to cool it on the conspiracy theories?" Booth asked, feeling Bones rub his back slightly with her hand, helping him release some tension.

He saw Hodgins just look him up and down with a disgusted look on his face. "Yeah, that figures."

"Bones, I'm going to grab us some drinks, okay?" Booth told her, giving her a kiss on the cheek before leaving, not wanting to cause a scene by decking a squint.

As he poured the drinks that he hoped the bug guy didn't spike yet, he looked back over to see Bones and Hodgins surrounded by several more people, discussing some topic that he probably wouldn't understand.

For the moment he was content to sit and watch her interact with the other 'squinterns' as he dubbed them. He loved watching her when she was talking about her bones; it was one of the times where he saw her truly uninhibited. Well, in public anyway.

He could see the passion so clearly even though he was currently several yards away from her and could not even hear what she was talking about. He couldn't believe that she thought these people wouldn't like her or that she wouldn't fit in. This was exactly her kind of crowd. Booth could practically feel the smartness in the air, even more than he ever felt at college when he was on campus.

"Who are you watching so intently over there, son?" he heard a voice ask. Booth turned to see a larger African-American man in a neatly pressed suit who had a goatee. The man's hands were behind his back and Booth was discreetly trying to look to see what he was holding.

"Um, my fiancé, sir, Temperance Brennan. She is the one in the blue dress and the brown hair," he said, pointing her out to him. "And you are?" he began to ask. As he did this, Bones turned around to see him and instantly excused herself from the group she was talking to, walking over to where he stood.

"Hello, Dr. Goodman," Bones said when she reached them. "I believe my fiancé here, Seeley Booth, has already told you who I am."

"Of course I know you, Ms. Brennan. I was very pleased to see that you had accepted our offer to intern here," Dr. Goodman told her, and Booth was beaming with pride for her.

"Thank you, sir. I am very excited to begin working."

"Well, you will have that opportunity soon enough. But you will need this for your first day," Dr. Goodman said, finally bringing out what he had behind his back and handing it to Bones. From what Booth could tell, it was a light gray lab coat with the Jeffersonian seal over the right breast pocket. While Booth personally didn't understand the significance of this, Bones was obviously very touched and he could tell that she was trying to hold back her emotions.

"Congratulations again, Ms. Brennan. See you Monday." And with that, he left them alone.

Booth put his arm around Bones' shoulder, pulling her into his side. He gently rubbed her shoulder, smiling as she turned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head in his shoulder, her right hand still gripping the lab coat.

"I'm so proud of you, Bones," he whispered into her ear, gently kissing her temple.

"Thanks, Booth," he heard her say. She pulled back a little bit and looked into his eyes. "I'm really glad you are here with me. This moment is so much more special because you are here. I love you."

He leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss, echoing her sentiment completely with his actions.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: All right, folks, I am going to be really interested in what you think about this one. It took me about a week to write and I am finally happy with how it turned out. We are skipping a year from the last time we saw our favorite couple because I thought everyone (including myself) would not want anymore 'Booth and Brennan apart' writing. So, enjoy, and please let me know what you think.

Chapter 22

July 1999

The bullpen was bustling in the Major Crimes Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which was on the eleventh floor of the J. Edgar Hoover Building and Special Agent Seeley Booth was just trying to keep up. He had only been an agent now for six months and every single day, he was completely exhilarated and overwhelmed by his job. Thankfully, new agents got a mentor right after they graduated from Quantico and even though Booth's mentor was a hard ass, Special Agent Sam Cook was a good man and ad taught Booth a lot.

But this as his last week with Sam and the reality that come Monday, he would be his own, independent agent was starting to set in. And it was a pretty scary reality.

Being the new guy in the Major Crime Division was really hard, and Booth was told by his superiors that very rarely would they give a rookie such a tough assignment. But Booth aced every test they gave him at the Academy and that combined with his four years as an Army Ranger let him pretty much pick the assignment he wanted. And starting next week, he would be going out to sites on his own, interrogating suspects on his own, and defending his work in criminal cases on the stand in trials on his own.

"Hey, Booth!" he heard from across the large room of agents behind computers at their desks, probably fifty in all. "Assistant Director Cullen wants to see you right now!"

Booth did not even know who said that but he stood quickly, buttoning the top button at his collar and straightening his tie before hurriedly moving towards the door, suddenly nervous about his dress today. Him and Bones did not have a lot of money, so all of his suits and ties came from the local thrift store, which meant that not only did the suits not fit quite right, but also his ties were a little… unconventional. For example, today his tie was a silver color with a pair of flamingos in front of a setting sun. And while Bones liked it, he buttoned up his suit jacket hoping to cover up the flamingos at least. Trying to squash his nervousness, he went down the hall. Keeping Sam Cullen waiting was not something he wanted to do, not when he heard the stories of what happened to other agents whom had done the same thing.

As Booth approached Cullen's door, he got all kinds of butterflies in his stomach, or 'mosquitoes' as his beautiful fiancé would say. Just the thought of her decreased his tension a little bit and brought a smile to his face that he schooled the second before knocking on his boss' door.

"Enter," was the gruff response to his query.

Booth opened the door, softly closing it behind him and kind of hoping that he could blend into the wall and disappear.

"Sit down, Booth. I have a lot more important things to do today than talk to you so let's get this over with," Cullen told him, not looking up from his paperwork.

"Yes, sir," he answered, quickly sitting down, trying desperately not to fidget.

"Booth, we are pulling you off orientation a week early," Cullen told him, finally looking up from his desk. "As you know, the FBI is heading the whole investigation into the war crimes that took place in Kosovo. Now, according to your military record, you spend some significant time in Kosovo, am I right?"

"Yes, sir," Booth answered, trying to repress the shudder that threatened to surface as memories of his experience in that country washed over him. His heart rate sped up as he thought about what Cullen was going to say next. He started praying that he wasn't going to be told to get on a plane and go out there; he was supposed to get married in a month and a half.

"You're first assignment as an agent will be two-fold. Since you have experience with the land and the culture, you will be coordinating with the agents in the field from here in D.C. You are nowhere near experienced enough to go out into the field but we do need your expertise. Even though it is mostly a research role, it is a big responsibility and one you should not take lightly. Get this right, and you will be a field agent before you know it, understood?"

"Yes, sir," Booth replied, starting to feel like a broken record. "What about the second part of the assignment, sir?"

"The second part of the assignment is rather…unique and will require all of your patience. You ever heard of a squint, Booth?"

Three hours later, Booth walked into the laboratory section of the Jeffersonian, newly equipped with his new access badge that he had just gotten from security with Cullen's phone call. Carrying the two armloads of case files he had gotten earlier in the day and had been sorting through all day, he went to look for Dr. Goodman on strict instructions from Cullen.

As he walked through the lab, he couldn't help but smile. This reminded him of the days when him and Bones were at Penn State and he would study in the lab while she worked with her bones. When Cullen asked him earlier if he ever heard of a squint, he almost burst out laughing. Little did his boss know, he was marrying a squint.

"Booth!" Speak of the devil.

He looked up on the platform, the one he knew from her last lab not to walk on without permission, to see an amazing skylight that nearly spanned the entire ceiling. There also seemed to be a second level to the lab and Booth could see plants growing off the side. This was definitely a lot nicer than her last lab, Booth thought as he looked around in awe.

"Booth, what are you doing here?" his beautiful Bones asked him as she met him at the base of the stairs that led up to the forensic platform. Her hair was pulled back and she was wearing her typical gray Jeffersonian lab coat. According to what she told him, those people without doctorates (or the squinterns, as he liked to call them) wore the gray and those with doctorates wore the navy blue. She surprised him when she cupped his face in her hands and gave him a light peck on the lips in greeting.

"Hey, Bones. I'm actually here on my very first assignment as an independent FBI Agent," he told her with a smile, watching as a similar smile graced her own face. "Can you point me in the direction of Dr. Goodman's office? I need to speak to him about our new partnership."

"Sure, Agent Booth, I'll take you right there," she told him playfully, linking her arm through one of his full ones and leading him toward the back of the lab.

"Dr. Goodman," she said, walking through the open glass door of his office without knocking.

"Agent Booth," Dr. Goodman said, standing up from his desk as he and Bones entered the room. "Assistant Director Cullen told me to you would be stopping by. Please, have a seat."

"Thank you, sir," Booth replied, sitting in one of the chairs across from Dr. Goodman's desk as Bones took the other one. "I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with the Jeffersonian in helping identify some of the remains from Kosovo."

"Well, Agent Booth, as a federally funded institution, our laboratory will help out in whatever way we can. Am I to assume that you are our new liaison? Because the last one did not last very long," Dr. Goodman asked, already looking through the files Booth had brought over.

He stole a look at Bones' excited face before answering. "Yes, sir. After all, I have always liked squints."

* * *

Tempe was very excited as she and Booth walked to the Metro station that would take them home. Even though she wouldn't be directly working with Booth, the fact that they would be able to see each other everyday was going to be great. After all, they were already sacrificing their honeymoon because they couldn't get the time off of their work so she was excited they would be able to spend more time together during the workday.

"So, how are you feeling, Agent Booth?" she asked him as she lightly squeezed the hand she was holding. He turned to her and gave her a blinding smile.

"Pretty good," he said, leading her down the stairs into the station.

"Just 'pretty good'?" she asked, trying to get to the reason why he had been quieter this evening than he usually ever was.

"It's just that I saw some pretty gruesome stuff when I was in Kosovo, Bones. It's all just kind of bringing it back," he said, putting his arms around her shoulders as they sat down on the subway. Even though it was July and very, very warm outside and inside the subway car, she knew he needed the physical contact right now to comfort him.

"Can I do anything to help?"

"You're already doing a lot, Bones. I just wish we could work more directly together on this one."

She smiled up at him. "You know, after you left, Dr. Goodman suggested that I could take a part of the identification on as my thesis. Since I have two years left, it should be the perfect project. And I accepted his proposal."

"Bones, that's great!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arm more securely around her and kissing her temple. "Look at us, working together. I just hope we don't drive each other crazy," he finished. She smacked him in the stomach and grinned as she heard his laughter from above her.

As they got off the subway, she was happy to see that Booth had his normal, confident stride back.

It had been hard transitioning into their new environment and their new jobs. When Booth was at Quantico, she was essentially alone in the apartment since he could not get more than one weekend a month off. Dad had come to visit as often as he could but he had a job to do as well. She was just happy that Booth had gotten her the car before he left. The 1985 Volvo 740 GLE may have had 120,000 miles on it but it ran well and still looked relatively good as well. But now that he was back, she loved their walks together to and from work. It was 'their' time together as just Booth and Bones, where they could prepare for their busy days ahead and then unwind in each other's company on the way home. It also didn't hurt that they saved on gas.

It helped now that Booth had a full time job and was pulling in a decent salary. They were poor but they really were happy. After being in foster care for a couple of years, she didn't need much and now that she had Booth, money just didn't seem that important. And with her father helping to pay for the wedding and Grams helping her to plan the whole thing, they were really saving some money. Tempe was just excited to start their married life together. Strangely, when her future husband was going to be Booth, marriage didn't look like such an antiquated ritual anymore.

As they walked up the stairs to their apartment, her thought immersed in what flowers she wanted in her bouquet, she almost fell when Booth suddenly stopped. Looking ahead to what he was staring at, she saw someone, a woman, standing at their door.

"Rebecca?" Booth asked, taking Tempe's hand and leading her to the door. "What are you doing here?"

Now Tempe remembered where she was from: this was Booth's ex-girlfriend and their only meeting definitely did not go very well. Tempe could tell that Rebecca was jealous of her and Booth's relationship and even though she was bad with people, even she could tell that the blonde did not like her.

"Seeley, Tempe, I need your help and I didn't know where else to go," Rebecca told them, and Tempe could see tears swimming in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Tempe asked, getting straight to the point as usual as Booth reached into his pocket to grab his keys.

"I'm pregnant," Rebecca said to the sound of Booth's key dropping to the floor.

A/N 2: Look for the next update on Tuesday. Stay tuned and click that review button! Thanks!


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Thanks for the comments and the support. This one is a little shorter but I didn't want to leave you all hanging. This one might be a little far-fetched but go with me on this and I promise it will turn out well in the end.

Chapter 23

"It's Jared's," Rebecca told them as Bones handed her a glass of water when all three of them had settled down at the table.

After the initial shock at one, her presence, and two, her statement, the three of them made their way into the apartment to talk.

"I was under the impression that you and Jared were no longer in a relationship," Bones said, getting right to the point as usual. Booth wasn't sure what to think at this point but was determined to be open minded, even though his ex-girlfriend had just told them she was pregnant with his younger brother's child.

"We aren't," Rebecca said, placing her elbows on the table and hiding her face behind her hands. "He came back into town two months ago, in his Class A uniform and all confident and handsome, talking about all the great things he had done and seen with the Navy. We met up in a bar, started drinking, and one thing lead to another and the next thing I know, I'm waking up a couple of weeks later, vomiting every morning. I found out three weeks ago that I was pregnant and all I have done since then is think about what I am going to do."

Booth walked up behind Bones, putting his hands on her shoulders and was so grateful when he felt her bring her hand up to grasp his own. His feelings were so messed up right now: anger at his brother and Rebecca for getting into this situation, sympathy for the unborn child that was now in the mix, and gratefulness to his fiancé for being here with him in this situation.

"Does he know?" Booth asked, the first words he uttered since they had since Rebecca in the hallway.

Rebecca sighed and Booth knew the answer before she said anything. "No, I haven't told him, and frankly, I don't want him to know. He's not like you, Seeley; all I have seen him do when he comes home is drink. He is hanging around at all your dad's old haunts," Rebecca finished. Booth tensed involuntarily at her statement and Bones just reassuringly squeezed his hand.

"I haven't told anyone else about this yet, either," Rebecca continued. "Like I said, I have spent the last three weeks thinking about this, and subconsciously, since I started throwing up all those weeks ago."

"Rebecca," Booth started.

"No, Seeley please let me finish. Then I promise I will let the both of you speak. I mean, I never eve wanted kids, and now here I am, pregnant. Kind of ironic, if you ask me. But I can't just… get rid of this baby, even if I don't see myself raising it. I mean, I don't mean to be selfish, but I am in the middle of law school right now and all I ever wanted to do was be a lawyer, not be a mother. That's why I'm here. I look at you guys and I see the love you have for each other and when I'm not really, really jealous of what you share, it makes me hopeful that love still exists. I want my child to grow up in a house like that and I know Jared and myself could not provide, even if we were together and in love. I don't want my child to have what we had growing up, Seeley and when I look at you and Temperance, I see hope. That is why my first choice for my child is for the two of you to adopt it," she said, and not waiting for them to respond, she continued.

"Now, I know I'm asking a lot of you; after all, you two are getting married in a month and I am already asking you to raise a child together but please, just think about it. I am going to give this child up for adoption whatever you decide but I had to ask you first. I will help support the child financially too. I keep getting these visions of the two of you in the park with a small, blonde boy and it just feels right to me."

When she stopped talking, nobody in the apartment moved and Booth wasn't convinced he was breathing. Children were something he always wanted but never in a million years did he think he would be asked to raise his little brother's kid.

He had known Jared was going down this route for sometime, had seen he drinking increase at every family function. But as much as he loved his brother, he was so burnt out on taking the blame and the beatings for him as a kid that he wanted to focus on the good things that were happening in his life instead of bailing his brother out of trouble again. It was high time Jared started accepting responsibility for his own life. But now, here he was being asked once again to be responsible for another one of his brother's mistakes. Although this one was a quite bit bigger than some of Jared's other troubles. This one would be alive in just under seven months.

Rebecca looked at him and as much as he wanted to talk about this some more, his brain was not cooperating with him right now.

"Rebecca, this is news we are obviously going to have to discuss before making any final decisions. But personally, I do not feel comfortable discussing this any further before you speak with Jared about this fe…baby," Bones said. Booth almost smiled as she stopped herself from saying the word 'fetus.'

"Seeley?" Rebecca questioned.

"I agree with Bones, Rebecca. You have some more sorting out to do before we can make a final decision about this. But we will discuss it and decide what is best for our family."

Bones gripped his hand at his last statement and he knew that his use of the word 'family' really affected her. But weren't two people a family, or at least the start of one? He certainly believed so. Bones had been his family for three years now as far as he was concerned.

Rebecca nodded and got up from the table. As she did, Booth couldn't help but look at her stomach, trying to see if there was any evidence of the life currently growing there. He didn't see anything but also knew that he probably wouldn't; at least not for a while.

"I'm sorry for dumping this on you guys and asking this, but to me, this is the best option. Promise me you'll think about it," she said at the door to the apartment.

"Didn't I already say that?" Bones questioned and Booth couldn't help but laugh. From anyone else, that statement would have sounded rude but there was no malice in her voice; just stating a fact as usual.

Rebecca seemed to understand this as well as she opened the door and left the apartment, leaving a card on the table with her phone number on it as she went.

Booth locked up behind her and leant against the door for a moment, not quite believing what just happened. And he was really curious about what his Bones was thinking. He was hoping her genius brain was fifty steps ahead of him and already had a solution figured out.

* * *

Tempe wasn't sure how long she sat there before Booth came back and sat down at the table, right across from her. He reached out for her hand and she gave it to him automatically.

She had no idea what to say to him. All she could think about was the vision that Rebecca had told them about, the one about her and Booth and a little blonde boy at the park. She could see it too, and she was surprised to feel happiness when she thought about that scene, about her and Booth with a child. According to Rebecca, the child was due in February, and Tempe would be 24 years old. While she knew according to her anthropological studies that women usually had children much younger than that in most all other cultures, she never expected to be a mother by that young age. She and Booth had discussed their want for children and they both agreed that they wanted some time for them first, some time just to be happily married.

But she also thought about her own childhood and he own experiences with the foster system. Even though she was sure that Rebecca would try to find suitable parents to adopt her child, Booth's nephew or niece, she couldn't help but picture the worst case scenario, some of which she lived herself. If her and Booth had the means to bring this child up in a home with encouragement and love, then she felt a need to do so. Looking into Booth's eyes, she knew she needed to make her position known.

"We are going to do it, Booth," she told him. "If Jared agrees, we are going to raise that child."

She felt Booth squeeze her hand. "Are you sure, Bones? This is quite a bit of a shock. I mean, when the child is born, we will be starting our life together."

"Booth, could you ever forgive yourself if your niece or nephew went into the system, ended up in some of the same houses I was in?" She saw Booth cast his eyes downward and she knew his answer. "I couldn't either. We can do this, Booth. And even though the thought of being parents terrifies me, I have come to believe in us. Rationally, evidence of things we have accomplished together during the last three years leads me to believe that we could also take on the responsibility of raising a child."

She sighed when she was finished talking, finally feeling like she had sorted out her feelings about the issue but she could tell Booth was still thinking. He was chewing his bottom lip and she could feel the table shake from where his leg was bouncing up and down. She got up and went over to his seat and sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on his temple.

"What's on your brain, hon?"

"Mind, Bones, it's 'what's on your mind'," he corrected, giving her a smile. "I think you are right, Bones. You are gonna make a great mom. But I'm just so angry at Jared and Rebecca right now I can't think straight."

"We are both going to be good parents, Booth, despite our own childhoods," she told him and he could tell that she said exactly what was worrying him the most.

"We don't have to make any decisions right now. Let's go to bed, Bones. I'm exhausted."

As they got into bed and immediately curled into each other, Tempe couldn't help but dream about her and Booth and that little blonde boy, whose face she could see clear as day. Her own little family.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Okay, readers, this is the last chapter of this story. There will be a fun little epilogue posted soon so make sure not to miss that! Hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think!

Chapter 24

September 1999

"Shrimp, did you pick up our tuxes yet? The wedding is in two days and I want to make sure that it fits okay."

Booth looked over at Pops and couldn't help but smile at the old man that he considered his father. He was currently looking out the window of him and Bones' 1985 Volvo 740 GLE that they managed to get running again. Grams had shooed them out if the apartment earlier in the day with a large list of things they still needed for the wedding. After Bones told them to get out as well, the boys finally left the house. "Of course I got them, Pops. When we get back to the apartment, you can try it on. They are in my closet."

"I gotta say, Shrimp, as fun as it was raising your father, your two uncles and then you and Jared, I am so excited to finally have a daughter, especially one as beautiful and smart as Temperance," Pop said absent mindedly, missing the wince on Booth's face when he mentioned his father, one of the two family members that was not going to be at their small wedding.

Booth was so excited and nervous he could barely sit still for one minute. After months of bickering (or 'debating' as Bones called it), they had finally decided on a compromise: they were going to get married by Booth's family Catholic priest in the gardens of the Jeffersonian, which were currently ripe with fall colors. Father Mike was coming into D.C. from Philly tomorrow, as well as Bones' brother Russ from North Carolina. Bones had said early on in their relationship that if she ever was going to get married, she wanted it to be small and private, something that they would share with just the people that were the most special to them. Booth didn't care where, when, or how many people were at their wedding. When he asked her to marry him over a year ago he never imagined that he would feel this way when the day actually got here.

And the fact that they were already preparing for a new addition, a little boy, to their small little family that would be here around February just added to his nerves and excitedness.

As if reading his mind, Pops spoke up. "Shrimp, I just want to say again how proud I am of you and Temperance for taking in your nephew, my grandson. It isn't right that you were put in that situation but you and Tempe are going to make great parents." Booth just nodded at him, too choked up by his statement to answer. "Have you heard from Jared since the conversation?"

At the mention of the other family member that was not attending his wedding, Booth felt his blood boil, remembering 'the conversation' that Pops was referring too.

_It had been a long day at work. The Kosovo project was keeping him very, very busy and all Booth wanted to do was go home, eat dinner, and then fall asleep curled around Bones. He was so tired in fact that he nearly feel asleep on her shoulder as they took the Metro home. Of course, he partly blamed her for that. If she weren't stroking her hand through his short, spikey hair as he rested his head on her shoulder, she probably wouldn't have had to poke him to get him up so they could make their walk home from the station._

_The late August evening was extremely pleasant, and walking home with his fiancé, hand in hand, made this pleasant evening damn near perfect._

_After a quiet evening that ended with some cuddling on the couch while watching the Phillies game, Bones went and got ready for bed. Locking up the house, Booth too was looking forward to falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Of course, the universe had other plans. _

_The ringing of the phone startled him as he double-checked that the front door was locked. He was seriously considering not answering the phone but the last time he did that because he and Bones were engaged in… other activities, it was Cullen, which he found out about the next day when he chewed out Booth's ass for not picking up._

"_Booth," he answered the phone, grimacing as he realized his plans for a quiet evening were most likely ruined._

"_Seeley, is it true? Rebecca is pregnant and she is claiming it is mine?"_

_Crap. This was even worse than Cullen. _

"_Jared, where the hell are you? I can barely here you," Booth said and saw Bones peek around the corner at the mention of his brother's name. This was the phone call that they had been waiting for. After Rebecca had asked them to adopt their future niece or nephew, they knew they were going to do it but Booth knew without his brother's blessing, than their idea of adopting the child would be dead in the water. Neither of them had gotten their hopes up but it was getting harder, especially when Rebecca called them with news of her appointments. As Bones came in the room, the put the phone on speaker phone so she could participate in the conversation as well._

"_You know I can't tell you that. Now answer my question," Jared demanded and suddenly, Booth was reminded of every officer he had met during his time in the military. He didn't know how he felt that his little brother was now speaking to him like that._

"_Rebecca came to us about a month ago, Jared and told us she was pregnant."_

"_And she said it was mine?" Jared insisted._

"_Yeah, Jare, that's what she told us. Could it be possible?" Booth asked him, not thinking that Rebecca was lying about the child's paternity, but wanting to hear it from Jared._

"_I mean, I guess it could be. I mean, I thought we used protection the last time but that whole night is kind of fuzzy for me." There was a pause over the line and Booth could feel his fury rising. Bones seemed to notice as well as she put her hand on his increasingly tense shoulders, knowing exactly how to touch him in order to comfort him. _

"_Oh, man, Seeley, what am I going to do? I am not ready to be a father! Did she say she was going to keep it? Because that would solve a lot of problems for me if she didn't know," Jared finished. Luckily, Bones answered because Booth was about ready to blow up._

"_That's what we wanted to talk to you about, Jared. Rebecca told us about the pregnancy because she wants Booth and I to adopt the baby once its born. We would like to do that but Booth refuses to move forward with the paperwork until we spoke to you about it," Bones said, speaking for the first time in the conversation. _

"_That is great!" Jared said right away, surprising them both with his quickness of his response. "I mean, Seeley, we both know I'm not ready to be a dad. You were practically my dad growing up, anyway. Do I need to sign any papers in order to make this happen?"_

"_You are just going to give your child up, just like that?" Booth asked, not quite believing what he was hearing._

"_Well, I mean, it's not like I am giving up on the kid. I'm just making sure he ends up in a good home. My career is just taking off here, Seeley, and I don't have the time to raise a kid," Jared reasoned out. Booth was so furious at his younger brother's irresponsible behavior that he stormed out of the living room and into their bedroom, pacing around the small room as he distantly heard Bones finishing up the conversation._

_The next day at work, Booth couldn't even think straight. And since Bones had the day off today, his walk home from the Metro station was lonely and depressing. Not only was his walk home depressing but she was meeting with some of her fellow students at the Johns Hopkins library tonight and then staying with her father afterward so his night was not looking any better._

_When he arrived at the dark apartment, he went straight to the kitchen after hanging his suit jacket over the back of the old recliner they had in the living room. Sticking some left over pasta in the microwave, he went to change into his beloved sweats. As he walked into the room, something caught his eye, something that was not there when he left for work this morning._

_Walking over to the corner of the room, he was surprised to see a crib standing there. As he inspected it closer, he could see like that everything else they owned, this crib was second hand and had probably been purchased at the local thrift store. But it had been taken good care of and Booth tested its durability by shaking it a little bit, impressed by the way it stood firm. Inside, there was a small teddy bear and a note with an envelope._

_Even though, in reality, a bear would devour a small child, I think our child will like this one. Congratulations, Daddy Booth._

_Love, Mommy Bones_

_Opening the envelope, he saw that the adoption paperwork they had been working on for the last couple of weeks were complete, along with Jared's signature on what looked like a faxed copy. Despite the circumstances, Booth couldn't help but smile and think of how, in about seven months, he would not be coming home to an empty apartment but to his wife and child._

Since then, they had discovered that the baby was going to be a boy and they had a picture of the latest ultrasound on the refrigerator with a sticker above that read, "Parker Henry Booth. Due February 12, 2000."

"We haven't Pops. The last we heard from him was when he faxed us the papers with his signature. But all the adoption paperwork is in order and has been filed with all the appropriate agencies. And Bones and I have talked with Rebecca plan to be at the hospital when he is born and then take him home right after that."

"I'm honored that you are giving him my name as his middle name. It means a lot, Shrimp," Pops told him.

"Well, Pops, I only want the best for my son, and that starts with his name."

* * *

Tempe was nervous. Grams had been helping her get ready all day, which she was very thankful for. As she looked at herself in the full-length mirror in her apartment, she couldn't believe she was actually in a wedding gown, getting ready to get married to Booth in a little over an hour.

The dress was everything she hoped it would be. Even though she was not one of those girls who had been planning her wedding since she was a little girl, ever since she had begun seriously dating Booth, she couldn't help but imagine what this day would be like. The dress was a cream color, with a strapless top that hugged her body with intricate beading of the same color and the bottom of the dress flaring out to stop just above the ground. Her hair was done in a simple bun and she had decided to forgo using the veil. After all, the veil represented virginity and she was definitely not a virgin anymore. Not that she told Grams that. She had some tact.

"Baby girl, you look absolutely gorgeous," she heard from behind her and looked to see her father standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Grams had sent Russ, Booth, and Pops away earlier in the day and her friend Angela, now working at the Jeffersonian as a forensic artist, had been helping Tempe do her hair and make-up all morning. It had helped her take her mind off of the fact that she wished her mother could be here today.

"Thanks, Dad," she said, walking over to hug her father, who she could tell was thinking the same thing about her mother.

"Sweetie, you better not be crying. I used the waterproof mascara but let's not test it just yet," Angela said from the living room.

"Come on, Tempe," Max said, releasing her from the hug but threading her arm through his own. "Let's go put that future husband of yours out of his misery."

The ride over to the Jeffersonian was a blur to her, not even hearing Grams and Angela chatting away in the back seat of her father's car. All she could think about was Booth and how he was probably driving the boys crazy right now. She could picture him so clearly in her mind, picking at imaginary lent on his tux and fiddling with the all black tie that came with his rented tux. She laughed at him this morning when he checked three times to make sure he had their wedding rings. They had gone with simple yet elegant white gold for their rings, engraving the others initials on the inside.

"Here we are, ladies," Max announced as they parked right near the gardens.

"Okay, Max, we will meet you over there," Grams told them as she and Angela headed off to get their seats, which Tempe thought was funny, considering that there was only going to be about ten people at the wedding.

As her father walked her through the beautiful gardens and to the gazebo where the vows would take place, she instantly spotted Booth, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. When he saw her, Tempe was worried that smile that broke across his face would break his jaw it was so wide. At that moment, all of her nerves about the day went away. Walking down the makeshift aisle with her father, she couldn't believe how right this felt, how totally at peace she was with what she was walking towards: her future life with Booth as husband and wife.

When she reached him and her father had given her a kiss on the cheek, she immediately handed of her bouquet of to Angela and took both of Booth's hands in her own. She looked into his eyes and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he responded immediately and Tempe could see the truth of his statement shinning out of his eyes.

As Father Mike recited words about a lifetime love and commitment that she and Booth were making today, she couldn't help but think that she had made that commitment more than three years ago when she helped a lost student find his classroom.


	25. Chapter 25: Epilogue

A/N: Thank you everyone for your kind words and support for this story. I had so much fun writing this one and I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As sad as I am to see this one end, I am really happy with how it came together. Enjoy!

Chapter 25: Epilogue

September 2005

Angela was late. Very late. As she frantically scanned the arrivals board for the flight that carried her best friend back from Guatemala, her ire grew when she saw that the board was malfunctioning.

"This board is broken. The arrivals board is not working. Uh, did anybody meet the flight from Guatemala? Aviateca airlines? What gate? Yeah, right. I'm late."

She ran over to the desk where she assumed a man who worked for the airline sat, typing frantically on his computer.

"Excuse me, uh, you have a computer glitch at the arrivals board," Angela said, leaning over the counter, trying to get the man's attention. He hadn't even made eye contact with her yet.

"Hello! Sir, excuse me, yoo-hoo…" Angela tried again and grimaced when the man held up one finger from his typing to silence her.

"Great," Angela said. Time to move to plan B. Thankful that she wore one of her more racy bras today, she ripped open her shirt, pleased when finally the man behind the desk looked up, suddenly interested in what she had to say.

"Yeah," Angela said, smirking at the man's expression. "Hi. The flight from Guatemala?"

"Tell me you tried 'excuse me' first," she heard from behind her. Turning around, she saw the person she was waiting for.

"Sweeeeetie," Angela drew out, quickly buttoning her shirt back up as she met her friend. She looked really god in her eco-warrior look. She looked tired but Angela could tell she looked content, happy with her dig. "Yes, I did," she said as she wrapped her friend in a hug. "Welcome home. Are you exhausted? Was Guatemala awful? Was it horribly backward?"

"And yet I was never reduced to flashing my boobs for information," Tempe replied, smiling at her friend's antics.

"Flash them for any fun reasons?" Angela came back with and Tempe couldn't help her widening smile. Angela had a way of helping her cut loose.

"I was literally neck deep in a mass grave, not romantic," Tempe told her.

"Well, that's good, because I'm pretty sure that husband of yours, your very own knight in FBI standard issue body armor, would have killed anyone who tried to hit on you, neck deep in a mass grave or not."

Tempe couldn't help but agree as they walked through the busy airport. She couldn't wait to get to the lab for two reasons: one, she wanted to drop off the skull that she currently had in her bag and two, she knew her son was probably still at the Jeffersonian daycare and she couldn't wait to see him after being gone for two weeks. She had debated about going on the dig for weeks before she decided to go, Booth finally convincing her that he and Parker would miss her terribly but would be okay. He knew that she still loved field work and she loved the fact that he didn't make her feel guilty about leaving her family for a couple of weeks.

"So sweetie, I know for a fact that there is a little blond boy who can't wait to see his mommy," Angela told her when they were in the car, headed toward the Jeffersonian. "He told Jack today that you were off looking for dinosaur bones."

Tempe smiled at what she was sure her son had told everyone. Tempe didn't believe in lying to children but Booth assured her that in this case, it would be better to tell Parker that she was indeed looking for dinosaur bones instead of digging through a mass grave. After thinking it over, she couldn't help but agree.

"I missed him so much, Ange. I love being in the field but I can't wait to have a quiet evening with Booth and Parker."

"Both your men are going to be so excited to see you that you will have anything other than a quiet evening. Sometimes, I don't know who has more energy: Booth or Parker," Ange said and Tempe laughed, agreeing with her statement.

As Ange talked, getting her caught up on the happenings in the Jeffersonian, Tempe's hand moved to her lower abdomen, resting over the life that she found out was growing there after the first week of the dig. She originally thought that the nausea was her body's reaction to the extreme change in environment but became suspicious when it persisted. After a blood test, she found out that she was indeed pregnant. She and Booth had been trying for a little over a year and a half now, ever since Parker was three and a half. But after being on birth control for so long, they knew it could take awhile but she had starting growing frustrated when it didn't happen. Now, she couldn't wait to tell her husband.

Looking at her watch when she and Angela got back to the Jeffersonian, she saw it was just about time for Booth to pick up Parker from the daycare anyway. Torn, she wanted to go see her son but knew she had to get the skull to the lab first. Angela helped her out.

"Give me the bag, sweetie. I'll talk to you later," she said, taking the bag and leaving, not giving Tempe any time to argue, as if she would want to.

She hurried through the hall of the Jeffersonian to the daycare, looking forward to holding her little boy. Rebecca and Jared saw Parker occasionally and Parker knew them as an aunt and uncle. Eventually, they planned on telling the boy but at five years old, he wouldn't understand any of that right now. Tempe could not imagine her life without him. She considered him her own, as she knew Booth did too, and he brought so much joy that it was well worth any of the exhaustion that came with raising a rambunctious five year old boy.

"Hey, Parker," she said as she walked into the daycare, seeing him playing with some Legos in the corner with another little boy.

"Mommy," he yelled, running at her as fast as his small legs could carry him. Tempe kneeled down and opened her arms, bracing for impact. She wasn't disappointed. Parker wrapped his arms around her neck in as big of a hug as he was capable of and Tempe Buried her face in his blond curls, smelling his shampoo and his distinct little boy smell.

"Mommy, guess what?" Parker started as he squirmed in her embrace, wanting to see her face. She let him go but kept her within the circle of her arms, where he happily stayed. "When you were gone, Daddy showed me how to throw a football! And we went to the zoo and saw a polar bear and I had lots of questions but Daddy said I had to ask you because you're a genius and then we went to the park again and I went down the big slide! And I missed you so much, Mommy," Parker continued. Tempe just smiled at him and nodded excitedly at his statements, energized by his excitement.

"Parker, what did you find?" she heard from behind her and looked up from her position on the floor with her son to see her husband standing right behind them, his eyes the exact same chocolate brown color as Parker's.

"Daddy, I found Mommy," Parker yelled, obviously delighted with Booth's question.

"You sure did, bub," Booth said, pulling Tempe up by her hand and wrapping her up in his embrace. "Hey, babe," he whispered in her ear, making Tempe shiver.

"Hey, hon," she replied, using the term of endearment she had used their entire relationship. She leaned back to give him a kiss, one he returned whole-heartedly. The kiss was getting a little out of hand, after all, they hadn't seen each other in two weeks, when Parker called them back to their surroundings.

"Mommy, can we go home now? I'm starving," her son said, running back inside the daycare to grab his backpack. Since he was starting kindergarten in two weeks, they had started letting him pack a backpack to daycare to help him adjust.

"Yeah, Daddy, let's go home," Tempe told him, taking one of his hands from around her back and placing on her lower abdomen. "We've got some celebrating to do."

Tempe smiled as she saw the realization dawn across Booth's face, his eyes widening as he looked down to where she had placed his hand.

"Yeah?" he asked, starting to softly caress the area with his hand. Tempe felt herself choking up at the look of pure joy she saw and quickly chalked it up to her body's increased hormones.

"Yes. It looks like we'll have to start converting our office into another bedroom because it about seven months, we are going to need it."

Booth pulled her to him tightly, almost lifting her up off the ground. "Thank you so much, Bones. I love you," he told her from where his face was buried in her neck. She stroked the back of his neck, raking her nails lightly at his hairline and couldn't help but being truly happy.

Walking out of the Jeffersonian, one of her hands holding Booth's and the other holding Parker's, she was thinking about her many labels; wife, mother, forensic anthropologist, daughter, and couldn't help but think how all of them together was nothing that she expected but exactly what she wanted.

"Oh, Bones, I forgot to tell you," he said after buckling Parker into the back seat and closing the door so he wouldn't hear. "A decomposed corpse was found this morning at Arlington National Cemetery down…"

"But Booth, Arlington National Cemetery is full of decomposed corpses, it's… a cemetery."


End file.
